Aaradhya Building Material

Our shop is tucked into Maurya Katra in the Khojawan area. It’s right there in Nai Bazar, which is one of those parts of Varanasi that never seems to sleep. If you’re coming from Smith School Road or near Bhelupura, you’ll find us easily enough among the other traders. The streets here are narrow and always full of rickshaws and people carrying stuff. It’s a lively place to work. Our day starts early with cleaning the front and getting the stock organized. We deal with all sorts of building materials, so there’s always a bit of grit on the floor no matter how much we sweep. We don’t have a big corporate team; it’s just a few of us handling the customers who walk in. Most people come in looking for something specific for a house repair or a small project. We sit on our wooden benches, drink some tea, and talk through what they need. There’s no pressure here, just normal conversation. Sometimes the heat in the afternoon is a bit much, so we take things a bit slower then. We’ve seen the neighborhood change over the years, but the way we do things hasn't changed much. We write out bills by hand and keep our own records. It’s a simple way of running a business, but it’s what we know. It feels like being part of the history of the bazar. We usually close up when the evening prayers start sounding.