Swastik Traders

Over at Shop No.2 in Mehtapura, you’ll find Swastik Traders. We are right in the Sabarkantha area, near the JP Markets. Being close to the market means there's always a lot of movement and noise around us, which I kind of like. It feels like you're in the middle of everything. We keep a variety of goods in the shop, mostly things that local builders and homeowners are looking for on a daily basis. It’s not a huge store, but we pack a lot into the space we have. I spend most of my day behind the counter or helping someone load something into their vehicle out front. We get to know the people who live around Mehtapura pretty well. You hear all the local news and gossip while you're weighing out materials or counting change. It’s a very human way to do business. We don't use any fancy computer systems for every single thing; a lot of it is still done with a pen and a ledger. It works for us and our customers don't seem to mind. If someone needs something we don't have, we try to tell them where they might find it. We aren't trying to squeeze every rupee out of people, just trying to keep the shop running so we can come back and do it again tomorrow. It’s a small shop life, but it keeps us busy and the bills paid.