Cool Tools

The shop is over at 33 Chikka Bellandur, in what they call Viskarma State. It’s a bit of a quiet corner compared to the main city, but we like it that way at Cool Tools. The name sounds a bit modern, I guess, but the reality is just shelves and shelves of heavy metal items and hand tools. We’ve got high ceilings here, which helps when the afternoon gets a bit stuffy. I spend a lot of my time just walking back and forth between the counter and the storage racks. The floor is concrete and has a few cracks from where we dropped some heavy stuff years ago. We don't bother fixing those things unless they really get in the way. People from around Chikka Bellandur know us well enough to just walk in and start looking through the bins. We don't have a fancy display or bright lights. It’s mostly just overhead bulbs that flicker a bit when the power fluctuates. The counter is made of old wood and it’s seen a lot of heavy items dragged across it over the years. We keep a small radio in the corner, but usually, it’s just the sound of the fans. There’s a small tea stall just down the road where we get our morning drinks. The atmosphere in Viskarma State is mostly workers and small trucks moving stuff around. We just fit into that rhythm. Sometimes we sit out front on the plastic chairs when there’s a lull.