The Friends

The Friends is our shop located at 95 in Johari Bazar. If you’ve ever walked through the bazar, you know how crowded and lively it is. Our shop is right in the thick of it. We called it The Friends because we wanted a place where people felt comfortable just coming in to chat while they look around. We have been in Johari Bazar for a very long time, and we have seen many shops come and go. We deal with various things, and the shop is usually quite full of stock. It is a small space, so we have to be careful where we put things so people can still walk in. There is no air conditioning, just some old ceiling fans that buzz all day. We have our regulars who come by every week, and we often sit and have tea with them. It’s a very old-fashioned way of doing business, but it’s what we know. We don't use computers much; most of our records are still kept in big paper ledgers. The noise from the street is constant—the horns, the shouting of vendors, and the chatter of tourists. We’ve grown so used to it that it feels quiet when we go home. We aren't trying to be the biggest shop in the bazar. We just want to be a place where people get what they need and feel like they were treated well. It’s a simple life in a very busy market.