Watch Hospital

The shop is right here in Joda, sitting near the petrol pump which everyone knows. It isn't a huge place, but we have enough room for all the tools and parts needed for watches. People come by from Sambalpur when they have a clock that stopped working or a wrist strap that finally snapped after years of use. We spend most of our time sitting at the small benches with those tiny magnifying glasses. It gets quiet sometimes, just the sound of ticking and the traffic passing by the pump outside. Most folks just drop things off on their way to work. We have been in this spot for a while now, and the walls are covered with old calendars and spare parts hanging on hooks. It's dusty because of the road, but we try to keep the glass cases clean so you can see the new watches we keep for sale. We don't have a big team, just a few of us who know how gears work. If a battery dies, we swap it out while you wait. Sometimes a repair takes longer if the parts are old and hard to find. We just do the work and hand the watch back. It’s a simple business. We don't have fancy furniture or a waiting room with a TV. There are just a few chairs and the counter where we talk to neighbors about their broken timepieces. It is what it is.