The Shalimar Auto Centre

If you drive down Andul Road, you’ve probably seen the grease stains and the cars parked out front of The Shalimar Auto Centre. We’ve been here for quite a while now. It’s a typical garage. There’s always a car on the jack and the smell of old engine oil in the air. We fix whatever comes through the door, from small scooters to the big family cars that have seen better days. The floor is never clean, no matter how much we sweep it. That’s just the way it goes when you’re taking engines apart. Most of our tools are old but they still work better than the new plastic stuff you see nowadays. I spend most of my time under a hood or lying on a creeper. My hands are usually black with grime by noon. We don't have a fancy waiting area with a TV. People usually just stand around and talk while we look at their brakes or change the oil. Andul Road is a busy stretch, so we get plenty of people dropping in because they heard a weird noise while driving. It’s a noisy place with the air compressor running and the sound of wrenches hitting the floor. We just try to get the cars back on the road safely. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s what we know how to do. Some days are long, especially when a bolt gets stuck. We just keep going until it's finished.