Neeraj General Store

We are located out on Awal Kheda Road in the Barahan area of Agra. It is a bit of a distance from the main city but the road stays quite active with tractors and bikes passing through. The store is just a small room filled with shelves from top to bottom. I try to keep a bit of everything because people don't want to travel far for small things. You can find soaps, matches, detergents, and notebooks for the school kids. The road outside is often dusty so I have to wipe the jars and packets almost every morning before the sun gets too high. It’s a lot of work keeping track of everything in such a cramped space but I have a system that works. Sometimes neighbors stop by not even to buy anything but just to chat for a minute while they’re out. I’ve lived in Barahan all my life so I know who likes which brand of tea or who usually pays at the end of the month. The winters here get quite cold so we usually keep the door half-closed to stay warm inside. In the afternoons when it's quiet I sit and listen to the radio or just watch the traffic go by. It’s a steady life and the shop is a big part of it. I make sure to stock up on extra cold drinks when the Agra heat starts picking up in April.