Chikan Wala Store

Chikan Wala Store is located in Ganpati Plaza, specifically on Phool Wali Gali. If you know the area, you know the smell of flowers is everywhere because of the market outside. We are at number 205. The plaza itself is always crowded, and getting up the stairs can be a bit of a struggle when people are carrying big bags of goods. Inside the shop, it’s mostly white or light-colored fabrics everywhere. Because we do chikan work, there is a lot of thread and small needles lying around on the worktables. I spend my day checking the stitching and making sure the patterns look okay. The lighting isn't the greatest in Ganpati Plaza, so I have a couple of extra lamps at my station. It gets quite warm in the afternoon, especially when the Phool Wali Gali gets packed with shoppers. I usually have a radio playing low in the background to keep things from being too quiet while I work. People come in and out all day, mostly looking for specific designs they saw somewhere else. I try to keep the place organized, but with so much fabric moving around, it’s really hard. The shelves are packed tight, and sometimes things fall off when I’m looking for a different size. It’s a busy, cramped little space, but it’s where all the work happens. We’ve been in this spot for a good while now.