Spares & Spares

The name Spares & Spares is on a small board out front, but most people just know us by the shop number 1778/53. Being on Hari Singh Nalwa Street means there is never a quiet moment. You can hear the constant honking of bikes and the sound of hammers from the nearby workshops. Inside the shop, space is a bit tight. We have crates stacked up in the back and the ceiling fan makes a clicking sound that we’ve all stopped noticing. It gets a bit dark in the corners where the lightbulbs burned out last month. We spend the afternoon sorting through small plastic bags and metal fittings that arrive in big sacks. There is a lot of paperwork that piles up on the wooden desk, and sometimes it takes a while to find a pen that actually writes. Customers usually stand near the entrance because there isn't much room to sit down once the new shipments arrive. My hands stay a bit dirty from handling the stock, but that’s part of it. Karol Bagh is a crowded place and our little spot is just one of many along this busy stretch. We keep things simple here and don’t really change much about how the shop looks. The calendar on the wall is usually a few days behind because someone forgets to flip the page. It's just how the days go by in this neighborhood.