Mahesh Battery

If you go behind Mint Hospital and head toward Pari Chowk, you’ll find us at Plot No 348. This is Shop No 1 in the Extension 1 area of Shalimar Garden. It’s a corner of the neighborhood that gets quite a bit of traffic, which makes sense since batteries are something everyone eventually needs for their cars or bikes. The shop is filled with rows of heavy black boxes on metal shelves. It stays a bit cool inside because of the concrete walls, but it’s hard work moving those units around all day long. My hands are usually a bit dirty from handling the terminals and checking the water levels in the older models. We spend a lot of time out on the pavement testing voltages when someone pulls up with a car that won't start. It’s a simple life, mostly talking to drivers and making sure they have enough power to get back on the road. We have a small bench where we sit during the quiet hours in the afternoon, watching the bikes go past toward the hospital. The air often smells faintly of acid and old metal, which is something you just get used to after a few weeks. We’ve been in this same spot for years, and we know exactly which shelf holds the right battery for every common engine out there. There isn't much to the shop besides the stock and the tools, but it's enough for us.