Tajmahal Cards

Chawri Bazar is a crazy place to work, but it’s where all the cards are. Tajmahal Cards is at 69/24 in the heart of the market. If you’ve ever been here, you know how narrow the lanes are and how many people are carrying big stacks of paper. Our shop is packed from floor to ceiling with samples. Wedding cards, birthday invites, and everything in between. It smells like paper and ink in here all the time. We’ve been in this market for a long time, and we know most of the other shopkeepers around us. It’s like a small community. We don't have a lot of space, so we have to be very organized, though it might not look like it to a stranger. Customers come in with their families and we spend a lot of time showing them different designs. Sometimes they can't decide for hours. We just bring them some tea and wait. It’s a big decision for them. The noise from the rickshaws outside never stops. We have an old desk where we do all the accounts by hand. It’s a bit old-fashioned but it works for us. We don’t do any fancy marketing. People find us because they are already in the market looking for cards. We just try to give them something they like at a price that’s fair. It’s hard work being in the middle of such a crowded market, but we wouldn't want to be anywhere else.