Nirmala Popat

I have been here at the ground floor of Bhuleshwar CHS for quite a while now. Mulund West is a busy area but our little corner on Pune Satara Road stays pretty consistent. Most days start early before the sun gets too hot. I usually open the shutters and sweep the front bit of the pavement. The neighbors from the building walk past and we nod hello. It’s a routine that doesn’t change much. The ground floor spot is handy because nobody has to climb stairs. We’ve seen the shops around us change owners but we just keep doing what we do here. Sometimes the traffic on the road gets loud but you stop hearing it after a few years. It just becomes background noise like the hum of the old refrigerator. We keep things simple. There isn’t a fancy sign or anything, just the name Nirmala Popat that people know. I spend a lot of time sitting behind the main desk organizing papers or talking to whoever walks in. The light coming through the door in the afternoon is always the same. It hits the floor tiles near the entrance. I think about painting the walls sometimes but the current color feels like home. It’s just a regular place where work gets done every day. We don’t have any big secrets or special ways of working. It is just about showing up and being here for the people who come by. It’s a quiet life mostly.