Along the damp lanes of Dharavi’s Koliwada stands a modest pharmacy, humming with the rhythm of everyday life. Motorbikes slicing through puddles and the chatter of multilingual customers ordering soaps, biscuits, and syrups fill the air on a typical drizzling day.

Behind the pharmacy counter, two brothers work in seamless coordination, handing out medicines while switching between Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Marwari, and English with remarkable ease. Their fluency isn’t due to formal training, but years spent listening, observing, and speaking, which has woven into their usual lingo.

The shop’s origins trace back to their grandfather, who ran a vessel store in the very same space. That shop, like the city around it, constantly reinvented itself—selling bangles, glassware, dresses, electronics, and handicrafts, depending on the needs of the time. One of the brothers remembers spinning an umbrella adorned with colourful rakhis during Raksha Bandhan, drawing curious customers in with its whimsy.

In his younger days, the elder sibling walked the streets of Bandra, selling wares on foot. It was a time of “cheap jacks,” as he puts it, from bangles to mobile accessories. Eventually, he returned to Dharavi, bringing his street-learned savvy back with him. He began his career at the pharmacy as a worker, learning the ins and outs of the trade. Over time, he became the store’s manager. “Every goal has steps to climb,” he often says—a philosophy he lives by, as his brother climbs up the ladder to the room above. He recounts the significant change in his lifestyle - from lugging wares around to the customers to standing behind a counter, respected and being approached for condiments.

While he opens the store each morning, his younger brother arrives later and takes charge through the night, closing up after the last customer leaves. The partnership between them, rooted in trust and rhythm, makes them universally loved. Not only customers but also friends stop by and have a chat with the pair often.

Adaptability runs in their veins. The younger brother once worked in the printing business, wedding cards, business cards, and festive flyers. But when digital printing took over, that chapter ended, and he joined his sibling behind the counter. As the family grew, so did their responsibilities. The move to a larger home in Mira Road became necessary, though the heart of their work remains in Dharavi.

Dharavi, they say, comes with its share of frustrations. “Yahan sab padhe likhe bhi unpadh hai,” one of them jokes. Customers often buy based on packaging rather than content. “They’ll ask for the one that’s Rs. 66, not Rs. 68—even if it’s the same medicine, just a new label.” A woman asked for a cough pill while we stood there. “The good one or the cheap one?” he asked. She chose the cheap one.

Visual literacy often matters more than textual understanding. Affordability is always the top concern.

Challenges extend beyond customers. At one point, a neighboring shoe vendor began displaying shoes beneath the pharmacy’s signboard, deterring visitors from standing at the store. The solution was to erect a small partition to reclaim space. A fruit seller once sat on the staircase; housing society disputes in Mira Road, too, add their share of stress. The brothers have accepted these skirmishes as part of city life, but not without effort or irritation. The puddle outside the store is another sore point—an issue they say the municipality never addresses.

Despite the grind, there is deep pride. “We come from a community known for its cleanliness, cooperation, and class,” one of them says of their Bohra roots. They value kindness and generosity, but only to those who reciprocate. “If someone is rude, there’s no hospitality that can be expected.”

On governance, they agree on a familiar frustration. Corruption, according to them, is so entrenched that sometimes, even they’ve had to compromise. Water remains their top concern. “Fix the water problem—just that one step—and you’ll see many other problems fall into place,” one insists. Again, that metaphor: life as a staircase, progress made one step at a time.

In a fast-changing city, with old mangroves replaced by small houses and open grounds lost to construction, the pharmacy remains grounded. Not because it hasn’t changed, but because the brothers behind it have adapted at every turn, climbing each new step with quiet resolve.