Zaid Hand Dyeing

Our place is situated at 192 Ring Road, right there on 1st Main 4th Cross. It’s a busy corner, and you can usually tell where we are by the smell of the dyes and the steam coming out. We do everything by hand here, which means my hands are almost always stained some shade of blue or red. It’s a small operation, really just a few of us working with the tubs and the fabric. The floor is usually a bit wet, and there are lines of cloth hanging up to dry whenever the weather allows it. People bring us all sorts of materials, and we just do our best to get the colors right. It isn’t some high-tech factory with machines doing all the work. It’s mostly just us using our arms and big stirring sticks. Sometimes the shade comes out a little different than expected because of the water or the heat, but that’s just how hand dyeing goes. We’ve been at this spot for a long time, and the neighbors know us well. The traffic on Ring Road never seems to stop, but inside the shop, we just focus on the vats. It gets hot in the afternoons, especially when the sun hits the front door. We keep the ledger on a wooden stool because there isn't much room for a proper office. It’s just honest work in a crowded part of town.