Ashwani Mandap Decorator

The shop here in Yerwada 12 is usually pretty busy with stuff coming in and out. Most days we are just loading the big trucks with metal poles and thick bundles of cloth for the mandaps. It's dusty work and by the afternoon we are all covered in it. We have a lot of plastic chairs that need cleaning after every job because they get sticky or marked up. People in the neighborhood know where we are. They walk past and see us untangling ropes or checking the light strings. Sometimes the bulbs break during transport so there’s always a pile of glass somewhere that needs sweeping. We don't have a fancy office or anything. It’s just a workspace with tools and materials stacked up to the ceiling. If the weather is bad, we spend more time inside fixing tears in the fabric. It’s a lot of physical labor. My hands are always a bit rough from the ropes and the metal edges. We just get on with it. When a call comes in for a wedding or a small function, we start packing. It takes time to get everything sorted right. We try not to forget the small things like the clips or the extra wire. Yerwada can be loud with the traffic nearby but we’re used to it. The tea stall around the corner is where we spend our breaks. It’s just how things go here every day. We don't make a big deal out of it.