Gallery Mona-Lisa

We are set up at 101, Hawa Mahal Road. As you can guess, being that close to the Hawa Mahal means there are always crowds and lots of tourists around. Gallery Mona-Lisa is right in the middle of all that energy. The shop isn't huge, but we make use of every inch of wall space we have. We spend a lot of our time dusting the frames and making sure everything looks presentable. It’s a bit of a struggle to keep the dust out with the doors open to the street, but that’s Jaipur for you. We don't have a big corporate structure or a bunch of managers. It’s usually just a couple of us here, chatting with people who wander in and showing them what we have. Sometimes the sun hits the front of the shop so hard we have to pull the shades down halfway. Working on Hawa Mahal Road is never boring; there is always something to see out the window. We focus on the items we have and trying to keep the place organized. It’s not always perfect, and sometimes we run out of space for new things, but we manage. We aren't looking to become a giant chain. We’re just happy being here in this historic part of the city, doing our bit and meeting different people every single day. The evening is actually my favorite time, when the lights come on and the main rush starts to settle down just a little bit.