Flying Carpets

Out here in Lajpat Nagar Part-III, life moves at its own pace. Our shop, Flying Carpets, is at E-1. It’s a corner of the neighborhood that feels familiar to everyone who lives around here. Inside, it’s mostly just us and a lot of carpets. We don’t have those fancy displays you see in the big malls. We just stack them up. If you want to see something at the bottom of the pile, we have to move ten others first. It’s a workout. The air smells like wool and old wood. We keep a fan going near the door to circulate the air. Lajpat Nagar is always busy, so there’s a constant stream of people walking past E-1. Sometimes someone stops in just to get out of the sun for a minute. We don’t mind. We’ve got a small back room where we keep the more delicate pieces and a place to make some tea. The windows are large, so we get a good view of the street. You see the same vendors and delivery guys every day. It’s a nice community feel. We don't try to be something we’re not. We’re just a carpet shop in Part-III. Some days are slow, and we just sit and talk, and other days we’re moving carpets until our backs ache. It’s just the way it goes. We like being part of the neighborhood.