Karim Journals & Handmade Papers

Karim Journals & Handmade Papers is situated near Hotel Lake Ghat at 23/165, Lal Ghat. This is a very old part of town with narrow streets and lots of tourists walking toward the water. Our workshop is small and usually smells like damp pulp and leather. We spend our days making paper by hand and binding journals. It is messy work and we often have wet floors and sticky hands. We do not have much space, so the journals are stacked high on wooden shelves that look like they might lean a bit. The equipment we use is old and heavy, and it makes a lot of noise throughout the day. We have been at this Lal Ghat location for a long time. The light comes in through the door and we can see the activity on the street outside. Sometimes it gets very loud with the traffic and people shouting, but we are used to it. We do not have a fancy store window to show off our stuff. People just find us by the smell of the paper or by asking around. We usually have scraps of paper stuck to our clothes by the end of the day. It is hard work and it takes a lot of patience. We just focus on one book at a time and try to finish the orders as they come in. It is just a local business doing things the old way.