Standard Painting

The shop at E-100 South Anarkali Gali No. 8 is where we spend most of our time. It’s just a regular place, not very big, but we manage to fit everything in. You’ll see Gali No. 8 is a bit narrow, so getting deliveries in can be a bit of a headache sometimes, but we’ve lived here long enough to know the tricks. We started Standard Painting because we knew how to handle brushes and buckets better than most other things. It’s not fancy work, just honest labor. Most days it’s just us surrounded by cans of paint and a lot of drop cloths that have seen better days. There is always a faint smell of thinner in the air, which you get used to after a while. We don't have a big office or a reception desk with someone answering phones all day. Usually, if the phone rings, one of us wipes our hands on a rag and picks it up. The neighbors know us well, and we often chat while we’re loading up the ladder on the rickshaw. South Anarkali has changed over the years, more traffic and more noise, but our spot stays pretty much the same. We just focus on what’s in front of us. If a job comes in, we do it, and if it’s a slow morning, we might spend a little extra time on our tea. That’s just how it goes here. We don't need much else to keep going.