S. M. Mehta & Co.

We are sitting at Plot No.343 on Maulana Azad Road in Girgaon. We are right next to Gandhi Transport, so there are always big trucks idling outside our door. S. M. Mehta & Co. has been in this spot for a long time. The building is one of those older ones you find in this part of the city. Inside, it’s a bit cramped because we have so much stock and equipment shoved into the corners. It’s a lot of manual work here. We don’t use much automation. It’s more about knowing how to handle the tools by hand. The ceiling is high, but it’s dark up there because the windows are covered in grime. We get a lot of noise from the street, but you stop noticing it after a while. Sometimes customers just wander in because they were visiting the transport company next door. We keep a small desk near the front with a stack of old ledgers, though we don't sit at it much. Most of the time is spent on our feet. It's a bit of an old-fashioned way to run a business, but it suits us. Girgaon is a crowded neighborhood, and we've become part of the daily rhythm here. We just keep our heads down and do the work that needs doing. Sometimes the rain comes down hard and we have to move everything away from the door because the street floods a bit. It’s just one of those things you deal with.