“We have been selling and repairing cycles for the last 35 years. My boss, Saleem Ansari, owns this shop. I began helping him right from the time I was in my school. After my class seven, I dropped out of school and began working here full-time. I repair tyres, replace the tubes and fix the broken parts- there is nothing I can’t do.

We open the shop every day at 9:30 AM and shut it at 7:30 PM. I don’t take any holidays. I work on all days. I live just two kilometres away from the shop so I go home for lunch at about 1:00 PM and come back to work again.

There has never been a time when I did not have work, but the last four months were tough. Even though the lockdown restrictions have been eased, nothing has changed in the last few weeks.

I am 42 now and this work has helped me bring up my daughters and educate them in good schools. Even during the lockdown, when our shop was completely shut for more than two months, my boss paid half of my salary and I am thankful to him.

Only a few customers visit our shop nowadays, but I will continue to work here as this has been my second home for many years. These are testing times for everyone and we are no exception!”

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