Tubes & Tubes

Our address is 3735/18 in Chawari Bazar, specifically in the Churriwalan lane. If you know Old Delhi, you know that finding a specific shop number can be a bit of a challenge. The lanes are tiny and always full of rickshaws and people carrying heavy loads on their heads. It’s a very tight squeeze. Our shop, Tubes & Tubes, is just one of many in this area. We’ve got pipes and tubes stacked up almost to the ceiling. It’s a small space, so we have to be very careful how we move things so nothing falls over. The air is thick with the smell of the market—spices from the food stalls nearby and the smell of old iron. We don't have air conditioning, just a couple of small fans that try their best. It gets incredibly hot in the summer. We spend our days talking to people who come in looking for specific sizes. It’s a lot of manual work, measuring and carrying. We usually eat our lunch together in the back of the shop. There’s no room for a proper table, so we just make do. We’ve been in Chawari Bazar for a long time and we know the rhythms of the market. When the sun starts to set and the crowds thin out a little, we start closing up the heavy shutters. It’s a long day in a crowded place.