Atam Vallabh Autos

If you know Karol Bagh, you know how crazy Hari Singh Nalwa Street can get. Atam Vallabh Autos is located at 56/1738, right in the thick of it. Every morning, it’s a struggle just to get the shutters up because of the motorcycles parked right in front of the shop. We deal in auto parts, mostly for older models that are hard to find. The shelves are packed all the way to the ceiling. Half the time, I have to use a rickety ladder to find what a customer is looking for. It’s dusty work, and my hands are usually stained with grease by lunchtime. There’s a tea stall across the street that makes the strongest ginger chai, which is the only thing that keeps us going during the rush hours. Customers come from all over Delhi because they heard we might have that one specific bolt or light casing. We don’t have a fancy showroom. It’s just rows and rows of boxes and the smell of rubber and engine oil. The street is so narrow that two cars can barely pass each other, so there's always someone honking outside. It gets really hot in the afternoon, so we just keep the back door open for a bit of a breeze. We’ve been here for years, and most of the other shopkeepers are like family. We argue about the parking and then share lunch together. It's just how the market is, and we wouldn't know what to do anywhere else.