Kashmir Government Arts & Emporium

The shop is over on Residency Road, right across from the Punjab National Bank. If you are heading down Lalbaug Manjalpur Road, you can't really miss it. It is one of those places that has been around for a long time, and the shelves are usually pretty packed. We have all sorts of things from Kashmir, like those heavy wool rugs and the hand-carved wooden boxes that everyone seems to like. Sometimes the dust gets a bit thick on the higher shelves because there is just so much to move around. We don't have a big fancy display or anything. It is more about just having the items there for people to see. The floor is a bit old, and sometimes the fan makes a clicking sound when it is on high. It is just a regular government emporium. People come in to look at the shawls or the papier-mâché items, and we just let them browse. We are not the type to follow you around the store. Most of our day is spent unpacking new crates or writing out receipts by hand. It can get a bit hot in the afternoons, but the stone walls keep it decent. We have been in Manjalpur for ages and the neighbors all know us by now. It is just a quiet place where we keep the tradition going without making a big fuss about it. We open up in the morning and stay until the street gets quiet.