Banaraswala

If you know Avenue Road, you know how crowded and lively it gets. We are tucked away in Marlecha Mansion on Basvanna Lane, right across from the Banaras Sweet House. Our shop is full of fabrics and traditional wear, especially stuff from the north. It is a tight space, typical for this part of Bangalore, but we have managed to fit a lot in. We don't have a big marketing team or social media influencers. Most people find us because they were already visiting the sweet house or someone told them about our collection. It’s a lot of folding and unfolding clothes all day long. We like showing the different weaves and the way the fabric feels. Sometimes customers stay for a long time, looking through dozens of items before they pick one. We don't rush anyone. The lane outside is narrow and usually blocked by carts or bikes, but that is just life on Avenue Road. We have been here for years, and many of our customers are the children of people who used to shop with us. It’s a family-run kind of thing, very traditional and straightforward. We don't use fancy lighting to make things look different than they are. What you see is what you get. It’s a busy, messy, and honest way to spend the day. We get a lot of dust from the main road, so we have to keep covering and uncovering the stocks to keep them clean. We don't have any air conditioning, just the breeze coming through the lane.