Shankheshwar Traders

Our shop is tucked away in Mulund West, right over at Shelke Chawl 7. If you know the area, it’s a tight-knit spot where everyone knows everyone else. We opened up here because it’s where we live, and it seemed right to have a place where the locals could get their supplies without going too far. Shankheshwar Traders isn't a big showroom with air conditioning; it’s more of a traditional setup where we stack things high to make use of the space we have. We deal in all sorts of general trading items, mostly stuff people need for their daily lives or small household projects. Some mornings the delivery vans have a bit of trouble navigating the narrow lanes near the chawl, so we end up carrying boxes by hand quite a bit. It keeps us fit, I suppose. The kids from the neighborhood often stop by on their way back from school, and we have a few old benches where some of the elders sit and chat while we work. We don't really do much advertising. Most of our people come in because they’ve been coming here for years or their neighbors told them about us. It gets a bit loud when the festivities are happening in the chawl, but that’s just part of life here. We just focus on keeping the shelves full and making sure we have what people are asking for that week.