Mateshwari Mandir Moorti Painting Palace

Down in Chandpole Bazar, right near Jiledar Ji Ki Gali, is where we do all our painting work. The shop is at B.No.1737 on Khajane Walo Ka Rasta. It’s a tight space, but it’s been home for years. We spend most of our days with small brushes in our hands. The smell of paint is always around, and we have jars of different colors stacked up to the ceiling. It gets very busy in this part of the city, so there’s always noise from the street coming through the door. People bring us their temple idols when the color has started to fade or chip away. We sit under the bright lights and try to get the eyes just right. That is the hardest part of the whole thing. If the eyes aren't perfect, the whole face looks wrong. We don't use big machines here, just our hands and whatever light we can get. Sometimes the shop feels a bit cluttered with all the unfinished pieces, but we know where everything is. My brother handles the customers while I focus on the finer details of the painting. We don't really have a big sign out front, but everyone in the neighborhood knows the painting palace is here. It is just honest work that we have been doing since we were kids. We take our time because you can't rush this kind of thing. It is good to see the colors come back to life.