Khodiyar Beads Centre

Our shop is tucked away in Shivaji Nagar, over at Govandi. It is Shop number 7 on Plot 33. If you have ever been to this part of Mumbai, you know it is always crowded and there is a lot going on in every single lane. We spend our days surrounded by thousands of tiny beads of all different colors and sizes. It is the kind of work that requires a lot of patience because everything is so small. Sometimes a bag breaks and we are picking up beads off the floor for twenty minutes, which is just part of the job. The shop isn't very big, so we have to stack things all the way up to the ceiling to make room for everything. It can get a bit cramped when a few people are inside at once. We don't have a website or anything like that; people usually just find us by walking past or hearing about us from someone else in the neighborhood. We sit on small stools and sort through the stock while the noise from the street comes in through the open door. It is a simple life, really. We just focus on the beads and making sure we have what people are looking for when they come in. It is messy and busy, but it is our place and we have been here for a good while now. We just take it as it comes.