Bhatiyani Handicrafts

Working at 125, Ram Nagar, means we have a very specific daily routine tied to the school across the street. We are right opposite Birla Day School in the Chopasni Housing Board area. Every morning, we hear the parents dropping off their kids just as we are opening up Bhatiyani Handicrafts. The noise of the playground is our background music for most of the day. We do handicrafts here, so the workshop is always filled with all kinds of stuff. There are rolls of fabric, bags of beads, and half-finished projects on almost every surface. It’s a bit of a mess, but we know where everything is. We don’t have a fancy office chair; most of us sit on the floor or on low wooden stools because it’s easier for the type of work we do. The housing board area is a decent place to be, even if it gets a bit crowded during school pickup hours. We often have tea delivered from the stall down the street twice a day. It’s a simple way to make a living, and we’ve been doing it this way for years. We don’t really use computers much, except for the basics. Most of our time is spent actually making things with our hands. When the school bell rings in the afternoon, we know it’s almost time to start wrapping up our work for the day and cleaning the floors.