Bandhej Saree House

If you are looking for us, we are right near the gas agency in Ranakpur. It’s a handy landmark because everyone knows where that is. Bandhej Saree House is a small operation, mostly run by the family. We handle a lot of tied-and-dyed stuff, which is what people around here usually want. The shop smells a bit like new fabric and sometimes the incense we light in the morning. We spend a lot of time unfolding and folding back those long pieces of cloth. It’s a lot of work on the arms. The floor is covered with a white sheet so people can sit comfortably and look at the designs. Sometimes the colors are really bright, and other times they are a bit more plain. We don't have a fancy computer or anything; we just write things down in a big ledger book with a blue pen. The street outside can get noisy with the scooters and the occasional tractor going by. During the wedding season, it gets really crowded in here and we lose track of time. But usually, it’s just a steady flow of local women looking for something new to wear for a function. We just keep doing our thing, day after day. It's not a glamorous job, but it's ours. We just try to keep enough variety so people don't leave empty-handed.