Chamunda Embroidery

Chamunda Embroidery is situated in Agrawal Estate in the Gulabnagar area of Amraiwadi. It is an industrial part of the city where many people are doing various kinds of small-scale work. Our workspace is filled with embroidery machines that run for most of the day. The sound of the needles is a constant hum that you eventually stop noticing. We have large tables where we spread out the fabric to check for any mistakes. It is a very detailed job and it can be hard on the eyes after several hours. The estate itself is quite old and the walls of our unit have some cracks in them. We keep our thread supplies in big plastic bins against the wall. You can’t walk across the floor without getting thread on your shoes because there are scraps everywhere. We don't have a fancy showroom or a place to display our work. Most of what we do is boxed up as soon as it is finished. The area outside can be very dusty and the roads are often uneven. We have a small stove in the corner where we make tea during our breaks. We know the other people working in the estate and we often chat with them in the evenings. It is a simple operation and we just try to keep up with the work as it comes in. We’ve been here in Amraiwadi for a good number of years now and it just feels normal.