Aateef

Our place is in Dharavi, specifically Gala No 105 in Mohammadi Chawl. It’s right there on M G Road, pretty much across from the railway station. Being in Social Nagar means there is never a quiet moment. You can hear the trains coming and going all day long. Aateef is a small operation. We don’t have much room, so we have to be very organized with our stuff. The space is tight, and sometimes it gets really hot inside when the afternoon sun hits the front. We do a bit of everything here to keep things going. It's a busy neighborhood and there are always people walking past the door. We know the tea seller nearby very well. Most of our work is done on a small table near the entrance. It’s not a corporate office. It’s a workshop where we put in the hours. Sometimes the rain leaks in a little near the window, but we just put a bucket down and keep working. People drop in to ask for things or just to say hello. Living and working in this part of Mumbai means you have to be fast. We don't have time for long meetings or fancy talk. We just focus on the task at hand. It’s a gritty place but it has a lot of life. We’ve been here for years and the station noise is like a heartbeat for our daily work.