Boy T Harjanto.

It was legi (the first day) in the Javanese five-day week when pasaran (the cyclic trading activity) took place at the Prambanan market in Central Java.

The rain that fell the previous night had some impact on the market’s atmosphere. It was less crowded than usual.

On the roadside, against the backdrop of an old building, two barbers were cutting and trimming the hair of customers who were visiting the market, which opened on the first day and pon (the third day) on the Javanese calendar.

Sarjono and Widodo are among the few roving barbers. Locally, they are known as pithingan. They have dedicated their lives to being mobile barbers amid mushrooming hipster barber shops and hairdressing salons.

“There used to be 16 barbers offering their services along this road and their businesses were doing well,” said Sarjono, pointing to the market’s entrance.

He started working as a barber around 1984, when over a dozen were operating in the area, all servicing regular customers.

Now only two of them, Sarjono and Widodo, are maintaining that tradition. They charge a modest fee of Rp 5,000 (36 US cents) for a haircut.