Abdul Leather Works

Our little shop is located at Nana Peth 557/1. It’s been here for a long time, and the building shows its age a bit. Abdul Leather Works isn’t the kind of place you’ll find in a fancy mall. It smells like old leather and strong glue the moment you walk through the door. There are scraps of hide and different metal tools scattered across the workbench because there is always something being worked on. We usually have a radio playing some old songs in the background while we cut or stitch things up. Nana Peth is a crowded area, so there is always noise from the street and the neighbors coming in through the front. People bring in all sorts of things, mostly old bags with broken zips or leather shoes that have seen better days and need a new sole. We don't have a website or anything like that; we just open the shutters in the morning and wait to see who comes by. My hands are usually stained with dark polish by midday, and it takes a lot of scrubbing to get it off. The shelves are packed with rolls of material that we’ve collected over the years. Some of it has been sitting there for a while, just waiting for the right project to come along. We aren't trying to be the biggest shop in Pune, just keeping the traditions going in our own way. It is a simple life here at 557/1.