Ali Handicrafts

Ali Handicrafts is right in the middle of Chota Gopal Pura Bazar. It is a small street but there is always something happening. We work with our hands mostly. The shop is full of tools and the smell of the materials we use. It isn't a clean, white-walled gallery. There are scraps on the floor and half-finished pieces sitting on the benches. We have been doing this for years, passing down the way we make things. Sometimes the noise from the bazar is so loud we have to shout to be heard. We start early in the morning when the air is still a bit cool. Every piece we make is a little bit different because that is just how it goes when you don't use big machines for everything. We have customers who come from far away and some who just live around the corner. We don't have a big staff, just a few of us who know the craft. The shelves are cramped and we often have to move three things just to find one. It is a bit of a mess, but we know where everything is. People stop by to watch us work sometimes. We just keep our heads down and finish the day's tasks. It is honest work and it keeps us busy from sunup to sundown. It is just how our life goes in this part of the bazar.