Ishfaq Ahmad

My name is Ishfaq Ahmad and I run this small business in Bohri Kadal, Khanyar. I have been in this part of Srinagar for my whole life. The shop is just a small space where I keep my inventory for the customers. It is located in a very old street where the houses are built very close together. I do not have a fancy name for the shop, I just use my own name on the board. People know me around here and they know where to find me. I deal with different kinds of goods depending on what people are asking for at the time. It is a bit of a mix of everything. I spend a lot of time on my feet during the day. The floor is made of concrete and it gets very cold in the winter months. I usually wear a heavy pheran to stay warm while I am working behind the counter. Khanyar is a place with a lot of history and the people here are very traditional in their ways. I like the quiet pace of things most days. I do not have any employees, so I do everything from cleaning the windows to writing the bills by hand. The light in the shop is not great, but I know exactly where everything is kept. I do not use a computer for anything at all. Everything is done on paper. It is a simple way of doing things, but it works for me and my family.