Shanti Traders

If you have ever been down to Masjid Bunder West, you know exactly how crowded and loud it gets. We are right in the thick of it at Dariyasthan Street. Shanti Traders is on the first floor of the Delhiwala Building, in office number 17. It is an old building, just like most of the structures in this part of Mumbai. The wooden stairs are worn down from all the years of people carrying heavy bags and boxes up and down. We have been here for a long time. This area is famous for trading and wholesale, and we fit right into that world. Our space is small and literally filled to the ceiling with our stock. There is barely enough room for a couple of chairs and a small desk for the accounts. We don’t mind the constant noise from the street outside; it is just the normal sound of business to us. We deal with a lot of walk-in customers and people we have known for twenty or thirty years. It is a very traditional way of doing business here. We don't have fancy websites or digital displays. We write things down in our physical ledgers and talk to people face-to-face over a cup of tea. The tea guy comes around every hour, and that is how we keep our energy up. It is a busy and cramped place to work, but it has a lot of character.