Shanta Art Prints

Our shop is right across from 114, B.D.D. Chawl in the Wani area. It’s a busy spot with lots of families and kids running around outside. Shanta Art Prints is a small operation, mostly just the machines and a few big tables for sorting through the paper. The smell of ink is pretty strong here, especially on days when we have a big run going. We get some smudges on our hands that never quite come off until the weekend. The walls are covered in old samples and calendars we printed years ago just to see how the colors looked. It’s not a fancy office with air conditioning. We just leave the door open to get a breeze, even if it means some noise from the chawl comes in with it. The floor is always covered in little scraps of paper and cardboard. We try to keep it tidy, but by noon, it’s a mess again. We do things the old-fashioned way, checking the alignment by eye and making sure the rollers are clean. It’s hard work on the back, standing all day, but it’s what we know. People from the neighborhood come in for small jobs, and we just get it done. It’s a honest way to make a living in Wani. Usually, we close up once the light starts to fade.