Gamia Spices

Gamia Spices is right in the middle of Begum Bazar. We are very close to Aziz Plaza, which means there are always crowds of people and carts moving past our front door. The market is a noisy place, and we are right in the heart of that noise. Our shop is small and filled to the ceiling with different containers. You can smell the spices from the end of the block. It’s a mix of everything—peppers, seeds, and ground powders. We spend a lot of time weighing out portions and tying up bags with twine. It’s a fast-paced environment because people are always in a hurry in the bazar. We don’t have a computer system or anything like that. Everything is written down in our ledger books with a pen. Sometimes we run out of space and have to stack things out on the pavement for a bit. It’s a bit chaotic but we know exactly where every single item is hidden. The light in the back of the shop is a bit flickery, but we’ve never bothered to change the fixture. We’ve been here for years, through all the changes in the neighborhood. Our hands always smell like turmeric or chili by the time we close up. We don’t do any advertising. People just find us because we’ve been here so long. It’s just how things work in Begum Bazar.