Vernekar Engineering Works

Down on Mahatma Phule Road in Shahpur, things move at a slower pace than the city center. Our workshop is located at 239/4. It is an old building with high ceilings and a lot of history in the walls. We have workbenches that have been notched and scarred by years of heavy use. Every tool has its own place, even if the whole shop looks a bit messy to someone just walking in. We do a lot of fixing and making small parts for people. There is always the smell of cutting fluid and hot metal hanging in the air. The floor is made of old stone blocks that have worn smooth in the center from years of walking. We get a lot of local people coming in with broken bits of machinery, hoping we can fix them. The light comes in through the wide doors at the front. When it rains, the sound on the metal roof is so loud you can hardly hear anything else. We have an old clock on the wall that loses five minutes every week, but we do not bother fixing it anymore. We just know what time it really is. We have a small corner with a kettle and some chipped mugs for our breaks. Usually, we are too busy to sit down for long. There is always something that needs welding or a piece of steel that needs cutting.