Tarun Handlooms

The shop here in Sarojini Nagar Colony is usually pretty busy with the sound of the looms. We have been at No. 16-9-817/20 for quite some time now, and Old Malakpet feels like the only place where this kind of work still makes sense. It is not a fancy place by any means. There are stacks of fabric everywhere and the dust from the threads sometimes gets in your throat if you aren't used to it. I start early most mornings, usually before the sun gets too high, because the heat in this part of town can get a bit much by noon. My hands are usually stained with a bit of dye or just rough from handling the material all day long. People come in looking for something specific, and sometimes we have it and sometimes we have to tell them to wait. We don't have a big office or anything, just the workspace and the place where we keep the finished stock. It gets crowded when a new shipment comes in or when we are trying to finish a big order on time. The neighbors know the noise well. It is just the way things go here in Malakpet. Sometimes the tea man comes by and we take a break, but mostly it is just work. The floor is concrete and cold in the winter. We just keep the machines running and try to stay on top of the orders that come through the door.