Dravidian Handicrafts

We are based at 17 and 18, East Car Street. It’s a busy place to be, especially when there are festivals at the temple. The chariots come right past us and the whole ground shakes. We have two units next to each other to hold all the handicrafts we deal with. Most of what we have is made of wood or metal. It’s heavy stuff and it takes a lot of effort to move it around. The floors are concrete and they’ve got plenty of scratches from years of dragging crates. We don't really have a showroom. It’s more of a workspace where things are kept until they are needed. The air is always a bit thick with the smell of old wood and maybe some incense from the street. We open the big metal shutters early in the morning. Sometimes we find a stray dog sleeping under the eaves. We just let them be. The staff is mostly local guys who have been doing this since they were young. We don't have a big corporate structure. We just talk to each other and get the work done. There are always people walking by on their way to the temple, so it never feels lonely. We keep a big water pot near the door for anyone who is thirsty. It’s just how things are done on East Car Street. We don't see a reason to change it.