Shri Ganesh Leather Emporium

Our shop is right there on the Faizabad Road in Ismailganj. If you walk past, you can usually smell the leather before you even see the door. It’s a scent that sticks to your clothes by the end of the day. We have bags and belts tucked into almost every corner of the room. I spend a lot of time just moving things around so people can walk through without tripping. The shelves are made of dark wood and they've seen better days, but they hold the weight well. On busy afternoons, the noise from the traffic outside is constant. We get a lot of people just stopping in because they saw something in the window while waiting for a rickshaw. It’s not a very big space, so we have to be careful about where we put new stock. My father started this and I just kept it going. There’s a small stool behind the counter where I sit and do the accounts in a thick ledger book. We don't use computers much for that. Sometimes the lightbulb in the back flickers, so we have to give it a little tap. It’s just a regular local shop. We try to keep things honest. If a zipper is a bit tight, we tell you. We keep a pot of tea going in the back for when friends drop by to chat. Most days we close up once the sun goes down and the street lights come on and it gets quiet.