Meet local repairer Vinod. He identifies himself as an electrician and has close to 10 years of experience in dealing with different kinds of electrical equipment. He lives in New Delhi and owns an electrical shop in Bhogal, New Delhi.

Where did you learn to repair?

I learnt from a person who has now left this business of repair. Currently, here at my shop, I teach my employees.

Why do people repair things?

For those who don’t have much money to purchase, repairing is the best way to sustain.

What’s the oldest thing that you have repaired?

We have repaired 40-50-year-old fans, we can repair other old objects as well.

This fan which you are working on, what’s the issue with it?

Ball-bearing needed to be changed

Do you see any change in the frequency of customers, five years back and today?

Since I have been working, I have been busy. People get various things repaired.

Repairing of our belongings is a good habit which should be encouraged over purchasing of new goods. Your comments?

Haven’t given a thought to this; when the time comes, I will think over this. For now, we have to repair to earn a livelihood.

Where do you get spare parts from, and do these places have all the spares you require for the job?

Chandni Chowk, Red Fort area in New delhi. You’ll get almost all spares there; it’s India’s largest market.

With newer assembly technologies used for electronics now, it is getting harder to repair these things. Your views?

I would say old is gold; it’s easier to repair old electronics. Though the new electronics have different build and we haven’t studied about them, so we won’t fix them or take it, what we can’t repair we don’t, there is no point thinking about this.

Does this worry you that in the next ten years, your shop might get closed?

No, absolutely not, we aren’t worried about that. In India, repairing is all over. Repairing won’t stop in India.

What about those electronics which you can’t repair?

We tell the customers that our shop won’t be able to repair their device as we don’t have much knowledge. There will be other repairers who might do it.