Shikhar Steel

Our place is up on the first floor of building 59 in Wagi, right there on Shuklaji Street in Kalbadevi. If you’ve ever walked around near Sarvodaya Nagar, you know these streets are narrow and always packed with people moving things. We are in Room No 16. It’s a bit of a climb up the stairs, especially when it’s hot, but we’ve gotten used to it. The room is filled with steel pieces of all sizes. It’s a lot of heavy lifting and moving stuff around to find what someone needs. Kalbadevi has a specific smell to it, a mix of old buildings and hard work. We spend most of our time talking to people who come in looking for specific steel items. Sometimes the rain leaks a little near the window when it’s heavy, but we just put a bucket down and keep going. We don’t have any fancy displays or a reception area. It’s just a room where we keep our stock and do our business. You can hear the noise from the street below all day long—horns honking and carts rattling on the pavement. It’s a busy life here. We usually eat our lunch right at the desk between customers. It’s just how it is in this part of town. We’ve been in this same spot for a long time and the walls could probably tell some stories.