Prem Prakiash & Co.

The shop is right at Sheetla Chowk on Station Road, which is basically where all the noise is. We’ve been at this spot for years. It’s a small office space filled with stacks of papers and old wooden furniture that has seen better days. Every morning starts with opening the shutters and letting the light in. There is always a lot of traffic outside, mostly rickshaws and people heading to the station. We handle a lot of different things here, mostly goods coming in and out. Most of our day is spent on the phone or talking to people who drop in to settle accounts. It gets a bit cramped when more than two people are inside at once. The walls are painted a dull color and we have a few old calendars hanging up. We drink a lot of tea while we work because the days can get long. Sometimes the electricity goes out and we just sit there in the dark until it comes back on. It’s not a corporate setup at all. We just know everyone in the neighborhood and they know us. You learn to work with the noise of the horns and the shouting from the market. We just try to keep things organized and make sure the records are straight. It’s honest work and it keeps us busy from morning until the sun goes down.