S.R. Traders

If you’ve ever been to Sadar Bazar in Delhi, you know how crowded it gets, and Gali No. 11 is no different. We are at 667 B, which is a small shop squeezed between a lot of others. S.R. Traders has been operating from here for a while, and it’s always a bit of a scramble to get things done. The noise from the street never really stops, with people shouting and carts rattling over the uneven ground outside our door. Inside, we have shelves that go all the way up to the ceiling, filled with different products we trade. We spend a lot of time climbing ladders to pull down boxes for customers who manage to squeeze inside. It’s a tight fit, especially when more than two people are trying to talk to us at once. We don’t have much room for a computer, so a lot of our notes are still scribbled on pads of paper that we keep in the drawer. The tea boy from the corner comes by three times a day, which is usually when we take a second to breathe. It’s a messy, fast-paced way to work, but it’s the only way things happen in this part of the city. We deal with all sorts of people, from big buyers to someone just looking for a single item. Every day feels a bit like a puzzle, trying to find where we put things while managing the heat in the summer months when the fans barely help.