Rashtriya Hardware Store

If you go to No. 3482 in Chawri Bazar, you’ll find our hardware store. It’s right in the middle of everything. The shop is full of the smell of metal and oil. We’ve got bins of screws, bolts, and tools everywhere you look. It can look like a mess to someone else, but we know exactly where every single item is kept. Rashtriya Hardware Store has been around since my grandfather’s time. We haven't changed much since then. The wooden counters are worn down from years of sliding heavy metal parts across them. We get a lot of contractors coming in early in the morning before they head to their job sites. They usually want something specific, and we spend time digging through the drawers to find the right size. It gets very dusty with all the foot traffic and the old building, so we’re always wiping things down. We don't use computers much for the inventory, we just keep a mental note and a thick ledger book. It’s a tough way to work, standing on the hard floor all day, but we like being part of the market. There’s a tea stall right outside that makes the best ginger tea, which helps on the cold winter mornings. We stay open as long as there are people in the lane looking for parts. It’s just what we do every day at Rashtriya Hardware Store.