Murthy Tent House

Running a tent house in Lingarajapuram is mostly about moving heavy poles and folding up big sheets of fabric. Our place is at Sahu Nagar 371, and if you walk past, you’ll probably see us loading a truck or drying out some carpets after a rainy night. It’s physical work. Your back starts to hurt after a few years of lifting those iron frames. We started small with just a few tables and chairs, and slowly we added more stuff as the years went by. Sometimes people come in at the last minute because they forgot they needed extra seating for a cousin’s wedding. We try to help out when we can, even if it’s late in the evening. Sahu Nagar is a busy area, and parking the lorry can be a real headache sometimes. My brother and I manage most of the things ourselves. We have these bright red and yellow fabrics that have seen a lot of parties over the years. They aren't brand new anymore, but they still look decent once they're pinned up properly. The neighborhood knows us well. We don’t spend much time sitting in the shop; we’re usually out at some ground or a backyard setting things up. It’s a lot of sweat and dust, but it’s what we know. When the festival season starts, we hardly get any sleep at all. It’s just how it goes with this kind of business in Lingarajapuram.