Sri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Jammu

We are over at Quarter Number 72 in the Roulki Bakshi Nagar area. This is Jammu Tawi, in the J&K region. It is a bit of a trek to get here if you are coming from the main part of the city, but it is a nice enough spot once you arrive and get settled. Sri Mata Vaishno Devi University is the name, though we just think of it as our daily workplace. The building is older, one of those sturdy ones that has been around for decades. It has a specific smell of old paper and dust that you get used to after a few days. We spend a lot of time in these rooms. The winters get pretty cold, so we usually have a heater going or just wear extra layers while we work. Bakshi Nagar is a familiar place to most locals. We see the same people walking by every day. It’s not a fancy office at all, just a practical space where we can sit down and get things sorted. We have a few files piled up on the desks and the chairs are not the newest, but they work. It’s a quiet life here for the most part, except for the occasional noise from the street outside. We just keep our heads down and do the work that needs doing. It is home for us, at least during the working hours. We are just a group of people trying to keep things running.