Jagdish Lal & Co

Our shop, Jagdish Lal & Co, is situated at 994 Chawri Bazar. If you’ve ever been to Chawri Bazar, you know how tight the streets are. We’ve been in this building for a very long time. It’s an old place with high ceilings and thick walls. We deal in general trade and supplies. The daily routine is pretty much the same every morning. We open the shutters, sweep the front, and wait for the first customers. It’s mostly regular people we’ve known for years. We don’t do any big advertising. The address 994 is well known in this lane. We have stacks of inventory everywhere. Sometimes it's hard to navigate the aisles, but that’s just the charm of an old Delhi shop. We keep our records in big bound books. Computers are there, but the paper feels more real. Dealing with the heat in Chawri Bazar is part of the life. We have a big old ceiling fan that’s been spinning since I was a kid. We don’t make big claims about our work. We just provide the items people ask for. It’s a steady pace. Sometimes we sit outside on the stool and watch the rickshaws go by. It’s a life built on being here every day, rain or shine. I usually have my lunch around two o'clock.