Ajay Bartan Bhandar

If you walk down the Main Bazar in Samaipur, you’ll find us easily enough because of all the stainless steel shining in the sun. We keep the shop full of pots, pans, and all those heavy plates people need for their kitchens. It’s a crowded shop, and sometimes you have to squeeze past a stack of buckets just to get to the back. We’ve got stuff for big weddings and just small things like spoons or tea strainers. The bazar is always moving, especially in the evenings when everyone is out shopping for their homes. We don’t do much advertising; people just know we are here. Sometimes a customer wants a specific size of cooker that we don’t have on the shelf, so we have to go dig around in the store room behind the main shop. It gets dusty back there, but that’s where the extra stock lives. My hands are usually smelling like metal by the end of the shift from handling all the inventory. We spend a lot of time polishing the display items so they don't look dull. It’s not just a job; it’s being part of the neighborhood. We know whose daughter is getting married and who needs a new tawa because their old one finally gave up. It’s a busy life, but it’s what we know. Most mornings start with a quick sweep of the front pavement to get the overnight dust off before the first shoppers arrive.