Kala Akriti

Kala Akriti sits right in the middle of Hathi Kahana in Azad Market, at B-14. If you have ever been to Azad Market, you know exactly how the streets feel. It is narrow, noisy, and always full of people moving things on carts. Our shop is tucked in there, and it’s usually packed with items from floor to ceiling. We spend a lot of time just shifting things around to find what a customer is looking for. The air in the market is always thick with the smell of old buildings and whatever the street vendors are cooking nearby. We don't have a lot of space for bells and whistles, so we just focus on the items we have. Some days are so busy that we barely have time to sit down for tea. It is a lot of hard work keeping track of everything in such a small area. We have been in this part of Delhi for a long time, so we are used to the noise of the traffic and the shouting of the laborers. It’s not a polished environment, but it’s where we belong. When the rain comes, the lanes get a bit muddy and we have to be quick to keep the goods dry. It is a very hands-on kind of life here. We don’t do much fancy talk, we just show people what we have and try to keep the business moving along every day.