Bharathi's Customised

I started this small place in Chembur because I wanted to work for myself. The shop isn't very large, just enough room for a couple of tables and the racks where we keep everything. If you walk down the main road, you’ll find us tucked away near the other local stores. Most days are pretty much the same. I get in early, open the shutters, and start looking through the orders people left. It’s mostly clothing and things people want made to their own size. The fan on the ceiling wobbles a little when it’s on high, but it keeps us cool enough while we work. We have stacks of fabric tucked into every corner. Sometimes it gets a bit messy when we are busy, with threads on the floor and scraps of cloth everywhere. I usually have a cup of tea around four o’clock from the stall nearby. People from the neighborhood stop by to check on their stuff or just to say hello. We don’t have fancy displays or anything like that. It’s just us working with our hands. Chembur can be a bit loud with all the traffic outside, but inside here, we just focus on the stitching and the patterns. It’s a quiet kind of life, really. We try to finish everything on time, but sometimes things take longer if the design is tricky. That’s just how it goes when you’re doing things by hand.