Ajay Panchal

Malad East is always moving, especially near Shantaram Talav where the air is a bit different. Ajay Panchal runs things from the Lavtu Yadav Chawl, right in room number two. It is inside Janu Compound, which can be a bit tricky to find if you are new to the area. The space isn't huge, but we make it work for everything we need to do. There are tools and papers scattered around most of the time. It looks a bit messy to an outsider, but Ajay knows exactly where every single item is kept. We spend a lot of time here, even when the heat gets bad in the afternoons. The neighbors in the chawl are good people and we have known them for years. We don't have any fancy signs or bright lights outside. People just know us by name and word of mouth. Sometimes we sit outside on the small bench when the room gets too stuffy. It is a simple way of living and working. We don't try to be anything we are not. If someone needs help, they just walk up to the door and ask for Ajay. The compound has its own life with kids playing and people going to work. We are just one part of this busy Malad neighborhood. We just focus on the task at hand and try to finish it before the sun goes down. It is not about being the biggest, just about being here.