Arunkumar Ratilal & Co

If you go to Masjid Bunder, you have to be ready for the crowds. Our office is at 201, right opposite the Masjid on Mohd Ali Road. It’s an old area with a lot of history. Arunkumar Ratilal & Co has been around for a long time, and you can see it in the way the office looks. We have big wooden desks and cupboards that are probably older than I am. The windows look out onto the main road where trucks are constantly trying to squeeze through the narrow gaps. It’s a lot of noise and smoke, but that’s just Masjid for you. We deal with various goods, and there is a lot of writing in ledgers and checking invoices. Everything is manual here. We don't go in for all those new gadgets if the old way still works. The ceiling fans hum loudly all day, trying to move the heavy air. We get a lot of visitors, people we’ve known for twenty or thirty years. It’s more about the relationships here than anything else. You sit down, have a glass of water, and talk about the market. It’s a very traditional way of doing things. The building has those high ceilings and thick walls that keep it a little cooler, though not by much in May. It’s a solid place to be. The walls are a bit stained from the monsoon and the dust, but we don't mind it much.