Ashoka Beads Corporation

If you know Chandni Chowk, then you know how crazy Kinari Bazar can be on a Tuesday afternoon. Our shop, Ashoka Beads Corporation, is located at Katra Khushal Rai, which is a narrow lane where you can barely walk without bumping into someone. We have thousands of different kinds of beads stored in little plastic boxes stacked all the way to the ceiling. The shop is small and dark, but we know exactly where every single color and size is kept. It is a family thing and we have been in this market for a very long time. Customers come in looking for specific things for weddings or craft work and we spend a lot of time digging through the shelves to find the right match. The stairs to the upper storage are very steep and narrow, so you have to be careful when you are carrying a heavy load of glass beads. There is a lot of shouting from the street outside and the smell of street food is always in the air. We do not have a fancy showroom. It is just a traditional shop with old wooden counters and a lot of stock. Dealing with the wholesalers and the walk-in crowd keeps us on our feet from morning until the market closes at night. It is a chaotic way to work but we would not know what to do in a quiet office.