Hansraj & Co

Our shop is right on Silver Jubilee Park Road, and if you know this part of town, you know it is always crowded. Tilak Road is buzzing with people and handcarts from sunrise to sunset. We have been at 13820 for many years. It is one of those old buildings where the ceilings are high but the stairs are narrow and steep. We deal with a lot of regular customers who have been coming to us since my father’s time. We sell various types of hardware and supplies that people need for their trades. Every morning we roll up the heavy shutters and start sorting through the stock. Things get misplaced sometimes because we have so many small parts tucked away in wooden drawers. We still use old paper ledgers mostly, but we are trying to use the computer a bit more now. It is slow going to learn. Lunch is usually brought from home in a steel box and we eat it in the tiny back room. The noise from the street never really stops until late in the evening when the shops close. It is a bit of a maze in here with all the boxes stacked up. We know exactly where everything is, even if it looks like a mess to someone walking in. We like the rhythm of this area. You see the same faces every day, like the tea seller and the courier guy.