G. K. Khambati & Brothers

Our business, G. K. Khambati & Brothers, has been operating out of 141, Tawawala Building for a long time. It’s located in Lother Chawl, which is one of those old-style buildings with narrow hallways and a lot of history in the walls. The space we have is quite small, and we’ve had to get creative with how we store everything we have. We have shelves that go all the way to the ceiling, and you usually need a rickety old ladder to reach the stuff at the top. The floor is made of old wood that creaks every time you take a step. It’s not the most modern setup, but it’s what we have and it works for us. My brothers and I are usually here every day, arguing about where something was put or who forgot to lock the side cabinet last night. Lother Chawl is a busy place with a lot of families and other small businesses squeezed in together. You can always hear someone’s radio playing or the sound of cooking from the upper floors. We don't have a marketing department or anything like that. People know us by word of mouth or they just stumble upon us while walking through the building. It gets a bit dark in the afternoons because the windows are small, so we use some old desk lamps to see what we are doing. It’s a bit of a squeeze, but we’ve managed to stay here all these years. It’s just home for us.