Bishambhar General Store

Bishambhar General Store is right here in Etmadpur, Agra. My father started this place years ago, and we just kept it going. It is not a big fancy place with glass doors, but we have what most people need for their kitchens and bathrooms. We open early when the sun is just coming up over the dusty roads. You can find things like dal, rice, matches, and those small packets of shampoo that everyone likes. Sometimes the power goes out in the afternoon, and we just sit outside on the wooden bench until it comes back. The shelves are made of old wood that we painted blue a long time ago. We know most of the people who walk in by their first names because they live just down the street. It gets very hot here in the summer, so we keep the cold drinks at the back in the old fridge. If someone needs a kilo of sugar or some loose tea leaves, they come here. We do not really do much advertising or anything like that. People just know we are here. The floor is concrete and we sweep it twice a day, but the dust from the street always finds its way back inside. It is just a normal life running a shop in a place like Agra. We stay busy with the small things. The bells on the front door don't work anymore, so we just look up when we hear the door scrape the floor.