Pathi Silk Kendhra

Our place, Pathi Silk Kendhra, is on the first floor of Resham Vastra Mahal. We are at number one on Sanjeev Naik Lane, which is just off the Avenue Road Cross. It’s a bit of a climb up the stairs, and they are narrow, so you have to be careful. Once you get inside, it’s just rows and rows of silk. We deal with a lot of different weaves and patterns. The air always has that faint smell of raw silk and old paper. It’s a quiet space compared to the chaos down on the street. We spend most of our time sorting through the new arrivals. We check every meter for any snags or loose threads. It’s tedious work but it’s what we do. The building itself is quite old and has a lot of character. We have some regular customers who have been coming to us for decades. They usually sit and chat for a bit before looking at the stock. We don't have air conditioning, just some ceiling fans that hum all day. It gets warm in the summer, but the thick walls keep some of the heat out. We keep our records in big ledger books. We haven't really moved over to computers for everything yet. It’s just how we prefer to run things. It’s a steady, quiet life in the silk trade. We stay until the light fades.