Kamakhya Traders

Kamakhya Traders is over in the Subzi Mandi area, at Indra Market, Old 41. Being in a vegetable market means we start our day very early, often before the sun is even up. We deal in various goods that move through the market daily. It’s a very busy environment with a lot of shouting and people carrying heavy loads on their backs. Our shop is quite old and has a lot of history in the walls. We don’t have fancy lights or a glass front like the shops in the malls. It’s just an open space where we do our business and talk to people. My family has been in this market for two generations now. We know all the other traders around us by their first names. We share tea and talk about the prices of things every morning. It’s a very grounded way to live. There’s no corporate ladder to climb here, just hard work and long hours. We keep our records in thick handwritten registers. Sometimes the market gets very muddy when it rains, but we stay open regardless of the weather. We don’t really have a marketing strategy or anything formal like that. We just treat people fairly and hope they come back to see us. It is about building long-term ties with the farmers and the sellers. The noise of the mandi is something you get used to after a few weeks. It is just life at Old 41.