Have
you ever tried to get old products repaired, fretted and fumed on how it was
that there was a reliable repair shop once upon a time and that now nothing
seems to be right? This shop was discovered by me thanks to my irritated
father, who knew about it, in the middle of Lajpat Nagar and kept forcing me to
go there to repair my mother’s 50 year old Prestige pressure cooker. The high
dome, a hep model at that time has been discontinued by the company and its
broken handle was my father’s bane. Try as we might, it was not to be available
anywhere. I was content using it with a broken handle. After an irritated
session of ticking off and how youngster’s today cannot complete their work, we
carted the pressur cooker to Lajpat Nagar. I cribbing sure it was a wild goose
chase.
And
I must confess, I was quite taken aback by the shop, its size and the depth of
the products there. A small 6 by 4 ft shop old, dirty that one might not give
it a second look. I must have passed it innumerable times during shopping
binges in Lajpat Nagar but for the first time I was stunned by women who had
carted their cookers / mixie / toaster….what have you….any model…any brand and
voila the old man had a solution. One look at our cooker, he smiled saying yes
it has been discontinued….rummaged here there, and came up with not one but a
few handles with the rod, screws all together. He wrote the house number on the
cooker, asked us to return after an hour or so. And believe it or not! Yes it
did seem like Ripleys!!! The cooker stood there with two handles in utterly
good shape. My father grinned saying, “what did I tell you, there is nothing
that is not available in Delhi”!!! I
still cannot get over the shock of how he was able to find something in that
tiny place which accommodated him, his son and two helpers.
Though
the old man at the repair centre is short tempered and irritable, he has
magical hands. Now, though I have realized he does have a sense of humour
too…my subsequent visits with the travails of a pressure pan proved it. He
accused me of letting the food get burnt, I told him it was an insult to my
cooking. He countered saying, the pressure pan should be used as a cooker and
not for frying or regular cooking! I said, “they tell you to do that in the
advertisement, He grinned saying, “that is why they come with exchange offers
for cooker every six months, follow it and sell it off” !!! I started laughing
as two other ladies who had come with the same problematic cookers!!! Get your
old electronic products / cookers (including firang ones) repaired and Enjoy a
good dose of commonsensical lessons.
Location
– In Lajpat Nagar Central Market – it is called Deepak Repair Centre, - it is
in a galli popularly called Cooker wali gali.- Shop No. 9, (Pushpa Market),
Central Market, Lajpat Nagar, # 29832614.
How
to get there – Lajpat Central Market is at a rough distance of about 8 kms from
Connaught Place. It is accessible by the Metro, Bus, Cars, auto and cycle
rickshaws. Parking is a huge problem though!
Timings
– The market is closed on Mondays.
Highlight
– He also repairs mixies, electronic gadgets, can tell you where to source parts
not available….he is a reservoir of knowledge provided.
Insider
Tip – The Old man is extremely short tempered, irritable but a genius when it
comes to procuring old parts and getting the product going. It is amazing how
comfortable he is when repairing both Indian and International Brands (firang
ones!). Yes, many women from Delhi’s upper crust colonies – Def Col, GK I or
II, Vasant Vihar….think not twice before bringing their imported cookers to him
together with Indian ones. Believe me, even the shapless ones can find a
solution here. Speak politely, treat him not as a repair guy but a craftsman
who is proud of his skill and you will be rewarded! The sense of relief when
one gets in getting an old obsolete product working is REMARKABLE!!!
