Tahera Gift Gallery

Our shop is at number 145 in the Lathiwala Building. We are right next to the Raudat Tahera in Masjid Bunder West, which is a very busy spot. Most days, we watch the people going in and out of the masjid while we stand at the doorway. Tahera Gift Gallery has been here for a while, and the walls show the age of the building quite clearly. A lot of frames, small decorative pieces, and items that people like to give as souvenirs are kept in stock. The glass cases are a bit old, and the sliding doors sometimes get stuck when we try to open them. We don't have a lot of fancy decorations in the shop, just the items we sell. The street outside is always full of motorcycles and carts, so the dust comes in pretty easily through the open front. Wiping down the glass happens every few hours to keep things looking decent for the shoppers. In the monsoon, the water sometimes leaks near the front entrance, so we keep some old rugs there to soak it up. It’s a small operation, usually just one or two of us here at a time. We know the other shopkeepers in the Lathiwala Building quite well. Tea is shared in the afternoons when the sun is too hot to do much. It’s a very local way of doing business. We don't try to be something we aren't, just a shop providing gifts to the people.