Namrata Leather

Our workshop is tucked inside the Ashok Silk Mill Compound in Dharavi. If you’ve ever been to this part of Mumbai, you know it’s a place where things actually get made. We work with leather here at Namrata Leather. It’s hard work and it’s usually quite hot, especially with the machines running. The compound has its own rhythm, with people moving goods back and forth all day long. We start early in the morning before the sun gets too high. Inside our space at number 6, there are scraps of leather on the floor and big tables where we cut the patterns. Leather is a tough material to work with, and your hands get calloused after a while. We don’t have any fancy air conditioning or a glass front. It’s an industrial area, so it’s dusty and loud, but that’s where the work happens. We focus on the cutting and the sewing. Sometimes we sit out front for a bit to get some air when the smell of the hides gets too thick. We’ve been in this spot for a good while now. We know the neighbors and the guys who deliver the raw materials. There’s no need to make it sound like something it isn't. We’re just a small leather outfit doing what we know how to do in the middle of Dharavi. It’s what we do to pay the bills and keep things going.