August 12 marks a quarter of a century since Asish and his wife Veema, towing their eldest daugher Jenika, arrived to set up a barber shop on Bong Bong Street.

And that's exactly where his loyal customers have found him ever since, although these days his two younger children - Nikhil and Shivana - join him at the chairs.

It's 25 years of growing a business and relationships, just as his father, grandfather and great-grandfather did before him in Fiji, and - according to family lore - going back about 400 years in India.

"We came from Fiji in 1991, and were living and working in Canberra when I saw an ad in the Daily Telegraph, with this business for sale," said Ash, as he is known to his customers.

"Back then Bowral had one traffic light at the primary school, no roundabouts - it was a nice, slow town."

He describes Bowral "one of the best places you could live."

"The location, the closeness to the cities and the beaches - it's very central," he said.

"And the weather's great - I love the cold."

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Ash set up shop as an "old fashioned, traditional" men's barber and has reaped the rewards ever since.

"We keep it simple," he said.

"We have regulars come from far and wide - there are heaps of people who've been having their hair cut here for 25 years."

In fact, it's the interaction with people - just chatting as they sit in the chair while he snips away - that Ash loves best.

"I meet people all the time, and everyone's different," he said.

"I've learned a lot about the area, and so may other things - politics, life lessons, the mistakes people have made."

He said finding good staff is hard, so he feels lucky to have his son Nikhil and daughter Shivana join him in the shop, making sure the barbering skills flourish well into the fifth generation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he's been missing some of his older clients who don't come out as much, but he said business is still "okay".

"There's a lot more competition than before but the cake is big enough to share - we're just lucky to live in a good place."

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