Navlakha Tent House

Our shop is tucked into the Mahaveer Complex over at Surajpole. It’s shop number 3. We spend most of our time out on sites, setting up poles and stretching fabric. The office is small and usually has rolls of cloth or bundles of rope leaning against the walls. We've got different colors of tents, some old and some newer, depending on what people are looking for. It’s hard work in the sun, but we've been doing it a long time now. If you come by the complex and we aren't there, it’s probably because we’re loading the truck. We handle the local weddings and some of the community gatherings around here. The fabric gets dusty sometimes from the wind, so we spend a lot of time cleaning things between jobs. It’s a family thing, mostly. My cousin helps with the heavy lifting and my uncle keeps the accounts in a big ledger. We don’t have a website or anything like that. People usually just hear about us from their neighbors or see our truck parked somewhere. We try to get things set up a day early if the weather looks bad. It’s not a glamorous job, just moving heavy stuff and making sure the ropes are tied tight. Sometimes the wind is a real problem in this area. But we make it work as best as we can.