I have read Rusi Dotiwala’s letter "‘Chikkotee’ culled from?” (Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, August 7, 2006). May I enlighten your readers on this subject? For a start, the word should be spelt as "chicotea.” As with many things associated with Parsis, the Raj was responsible for the inception of this practice.
There was a barber’s establishment, in Tardeo I believe, owned by one Dhunjishah Virjee. Every so often a group of English servicemen would go there for their close-cropped haircuts and would then retire into the back room of the shop to be served tea by their Parsi hairdressers — they were......