Himech Engineering

Working out of the Karelibaug Co-Operative Industrial Estate at No. 9/A is a noisy business. There is always someone nearby running a lathe or moving heavy crates around. Himech Engineering has been in this spot for a good while, right near the Jalaram Temple. We usually hear the temple bells in the morning when we are first opening up the shop. The floor is made of concrete and it’s stained with oil and grease from all the machines we’ve worked on over the years. It’s not the kind of place you’d want to wear nice clothes to. We mostly handle mechanical parts and help out other local businesses when their equipment breaks down. My hands are almost always stained black by the time I head home for dinner. We have an old metal desk where we keep the invoices, and the drawer always sticks halfway. The roof leaks a little bit in the far corner when the monsoon rains get really heavy, so we have to remember to move the tools away from that spot. It’s a lot of hard work and the days are long, but we like being part of the industrial estate. You get to know the other shop owners and we often borrow tools from each other. It’s a decent way to make a living for a group of people who like engines and gears.