Md. Embroidery Art

Our work happens in a small room, C-43, inside Samta Chawl which is part of M. P. Nagar. If you know Dharavi, you know how things are laid out here. We are near Dhorwada Cross Road, not far from the well-known 90 Feet Road. Actually, we’re quite close to Qadriyah Masjid on Dharavi Road, so that’s the best way to find your way through the lanes to us. It’s a tight space, but we’ve made it work for a long time. There is always the sound of the city right outside the door—people talking, scooters zipping by, and the general hum of the neighborhood. The room itself is 4/8 in size, so we have to be very organized with where we put things. It’s crowded, but everything has its place. We don't have any big signs or fancy glass doors. It’s just a regular door in the chawl. We spend our hours here working on the art, mostly sitting and focusing on the details while the world moves fast outside. It gets pretty warm during the middle of the day, so we usually have the fan going full blast. Being in this part of Dharavi means we are right in the middle of everything. It’s not a quiet place, but it’s where we feel at home. Most people around here are doing the same thing, just working hard in their own small spaces. We share a tea sometimes and then get back to it. It is what it is.