Shree Narayan Das Bartan Bhandar

If you walk into the Shahpura Main Market, you’ll hear my shop before you see it. It’s full of metal—stainless steel, brass, and some aluminum too. My name is on the sign, Shree Narayan Das Bartan Bhandar. I’ve got pots and pans stacked from the floor to the ceiling. Sometimes it feels like a giant puzzle trying to get a specific pressure cooker out from the bottom of a pile without everything falling over. The market is always noisy with people shouting and horns honking, but the sound of clinking metal inside the shop is different. It’s a hard business because these things last forever, so I rely on people getting married or moving into a new house. I spend a lot of time polishing the brass items so they stay bright. My hands usually smell like metal by the end of the shift. I have a small stool I sit on near the entrance where I can watch the street. People come in looking for a specific size of tawa or a set of spoons. I don’t have a computer, I just know where everything is by memory. If someone wants something I don't have, I tell them to come back next week after the supplier comes from the city. It’s a dusty place, but these bartans are sturdy and they do the job. Manoharpur is a busy area, and being right in the main market means there’s never a dull moment. I’ve been here for twenty years now.