Gupta General Store

Gupta General Store has been sitting here in Dayal Bagh for a good while now. I usually start my day around seven in the morning, unlocking the shutter and letting some fresh air in before the Agra heat really starts to kick in. It’s a simple setup we’ve got here in Dayal Bagh. The shelves are mostly filled with things people realize they ran out of at the last minute—stuff like tea leaves, cooking oil, or maybe a pack of biscuits for their kids. We don't have fancy displays or those bright neon lights you see in the bigger malls. It’s just us and the daily routine of checking what’s low and writing it down in a notebook. Sometimes the delivery guys are late, and other times they come all at once, so the front of the shop gets a bit cramped with crates and sacks. Agra can be a dusty place, so cleaning the glass counters is a never-ending job for us. We see the same faces every day, mostly neighbors who stop for a quick chat about the weather or how the local roads are being dug up again. It isn’t much, but it’s what we do. We try to keep the stock fresh and the shop open until late evening when the street lamps finally come on. It’s just a regular local business run by regular people who live right around the corner.