Om Bhagwati Arts Handicrafts

Our little shop is tucked away at 15, Jwahar Nagar. It’s quite crowded inside because of all the stock we try to keep on the shelves. We have wood carvings, some colorful textiles, and those small bits and pieces people like to buy for their houses. Most of the items come from different parts of the country, brought in by truck. It gets pretty dusty in here, so we spend a good part of the morning just wiping things down with a cloth. Jwahar Nagar is a neighborhood where everyone seems to know everyone else’s business. We have been at this same spot for a while now. The front door is made of wood and it sticks a bit when the weather gets humid. We don’t have a big staff, just a couple of us who actually know where everything is hidden in the back. Sometimes people come in just to look around and escape the sun, and that is perfectly fine with us. We handle all the packing ourselves, using a lot of old newspapers and bubble wrap so nothing gets damaged on the way home. The lighting isn't great in the back corners, but we manage. We are not a huge factory or a corporate chain, just a local place with piles of handmade stuff. Some of the wood has a very strong, earthy smell that stays on your clothes. We just open up, sit behind the counter, and wait for the day to pass.