The Leather Shop

The Leather Shop is right in the thick of things in the Paharganj Mainbazar. We are directly opposite the Hotel Hare Rama, which is a big landmark around here. If you know the General Market area, you know how crowded and loud it gets. There are motorbikes squeezing past and tourists walking around at all hours. Our shop is quite narrow, so we have leather bags and jackets hanging from the ceiling to save space. The smell of tanned leather is very strong as soon as you step inside. It is a smell we have gotten used to over the years. We spend a lot of time polishing the surfaces of the bags and checking the zippers to make sure they don't stick. The floor is old tiles that have seen a lot of feet over the years. Because we are in such a busy market, it gets very hot and noisy, so we usually have a big pedestal fan blowing right at the entrance. We don't have a lot of room for a back office, so we do all our paperwork right at the front counter. Sometimes we have to shout a bit to be heard over the street noise. It is a very lively place to work. We meet people from all over the world who are staying at the hotels nearby. It is just a basic shop in a very busy part of Delhi.