Prakash Steel

You will find Prakash Steel down at 89, C.P. Tank Road. If you know Mumbai at all, you know this road is the heart of the metal trade. It is a narrow street, always filled with people carrying heavy loads and handcarts trying to squeeze past the parked scooters. Our shop is just like the others around here—small, packed with steel rods, and very old. We have got stacks of metal that reach almost to the ceiling. It can be a bit dark inside because the buildings are so close together, but we like the atmosphere. It is the kind of place where business is done with a handshake and a glass of water from the local vendor. We do not use computers for every little thing; a lot of our notes are still kept on paper pads. The noise from the street is constant—horns, shouting, the sound of metal hitting metal—but after a while, you stop hearing it. We spend our days measuring out steel and cutting it for customers who have been coming to us for decades. There is no air conditioning, just an old ceiling fan that has seen better days. We do not have a marketing team or a fancy website. People just know where we are. We show up in the morning, open the heavy shutters, and stay until the work is finished. It has been that way for a long time.