Urmila Silks

Urmila Silks is right at number 29 in the Shanthi Complex on Avenue Road. If you know Avenue Road, you know it is one of the most crowded places you can find, with booksellers and shops everywhere you look. We are inside the complex which is a bit of a maze if you aren't familiar with it. Our shop is filled with rows and rows of sarees and unstitched materials. We don't have much room for people to walk around, so we usually pull things down from the shelves for them. The light inside is a bit yellow and makes everything look warm. We’ve been here a while and the wooden counters are smooth from years of fabric being slid across them. It gets very loud in the afternoons when the street outside is at its busiest. We have a small stool for people to sit on if they get tired, but usually, it is just standing and talking. There is a small clock on the wall that is always five minutes fast but we don't bother fixing it. We keep our stock in brown paper wraps to keep the dust off because the building is old and things get dirty quickly. It’s a simple setup and we like it that way because we can find everything we need without looking too hard. Most of the day is just spent chatting with regulars.