Jain Iron Store

Working in Loha Bazar is exactly what you would expect it to be. Jain Iron Store is right in the heart of the iron market here in Dist Sangrur. It is an old part of town, and the streets are narrow, so getting the big trucks in and out can be a real headache sometimes. We deal with heavy iron every day, and your back definitely feels it by the time evening rolls around. There is no air conditioning here, just the open front of the store and the smell of raw metal. We have been in Sangrur for a long time, and the shop has not changed much over the years. We keep the different sizes of iron stacked up against the walls. It is a simple setup with a wooden table where we do the accounts and talk to the people who come in. Most of our days are spent weighing things or cutting them to the right length for a customer. The noise of the market is constant, with hammers hitting metal and people shouting to be heard over the traffic. We drink a lot of tea to stay going, usually ordered from the small stall just down the street. It is not an easy life, but it is what we know. We close up when the sun starts to set and the other shopkeepers start pulling their shutters down too. It is just business as usual for us, and we come back and do it again the next morning.