Mani Arts & Handicrafts

Mani Arts & Handicrafts has been sitting here at 15, Main Road in Arumbakkam for a long time. You can see the shop right as you come down the street, though the dust from the traffic keeps us busy cleaning the windows. We deal with a lot of different items here, mostly things people use in their homes or for gifts. It’s a family thing, really. My father started it and then I took over after I finished my studies in the city. It isn't a fancy gallery like you might see in the center. It’s more of a workshop where things are piled up and we’re always moving boxes around to find what we need. The floor is just concrete and we have a small radio that plays the local stations while we work on the orders. Some of the neighbors stop in just to say hello or to see what new pieces have come in from the makers. We don't really do much advertising. Most people just walk in because they were passing by on the main road and something caught their eye. The lighting inside isn't the best, so we keep the door open to let the natural light in during the day. It gets noisy with the buses going past, but you get used to it after a week or two. We just try to keep things simple and keep the shelves full of whatever we can get. It’s a lot of work keeping everything organized daily.