Maharshi Jyothishalaya

Down in Dommasandra, things move a little slower than in the middle of the city, which suits us just fine. Maharshi Jyothishalaya is basically just a room where we sit and look at charts all day. We have stacks of old almanacs and papers everywhere. It’s not very tidy, to be honest. There is always the smell of incense and maybe some tea brewing in the back. People come in from the village and the nearby areas because they want to know about their kids' weddings or maybe a new job. We don’t promise anything big, we just read what the stars say and tell them plainly. Sometimes the power goes out and we have to use candles, which actually makes it feel a bit more traditional. My brother helps me out with the scheduling, though we don't really have a formal system. If someone shows up, we talk to them. The chairs are a bit old and they creak when you sit down. We’ve been in Dommasandra for years, and we know most of the families around here by now. It is a good place to be. You can hear the cows sometimes from the neighbors. It feels real. We don’t do any fancy advertising or anything like that. People just find us through word of mouth, usually after talking to someone at the market. That’s how it’s always been for us here. We just sit in the back room and wait for the next knock.