Jaiswal Iron & Cement Store

If you go to the New Market in Sikanderpur, you’ll find us right near the Central Bank. Jaiswal Iron & Cement Store is usually easy to spot because of the stacks of iron rods leaning against the walls outside. Those things are heavy and a bit of a pain to move around, but that’s the nature of the business. We also have a lot of cement bags piled up inside, and we try to keep them dry. The air in the shop always smells a bit like metallic dust and lime. It’s a busy corner of the market, so there’s always someone shouting or a horn honking right outside the door. I spend a lot of time counting bags and making sure the iron is stacked safely so it doesn’t slide or cause any trouble. It’s a lot of manual labor, and my boots are always covered in a layer of grey dust. We don't have a fancy computer system or anything like that; we just keep track of things the old-fashioned way in our ledgers. When the sun hits the iron rods in the afternoon, they get way too hot to touch without wearing thick gloves. People come in from all over the area because the bank is right there, so it’s a convenient spot for them to stop. It’s just a regular store, nothing special to look at, but we have what people need for their foundations and slabs. We’ve been in this spot for a while now, just serving the local builders and folks fixing up their places in Sikanderpur.