Nutan Stores

Nutan Stores is located right at the entrance of Haja Patel Ni Pole in the Tankshal area of Kalupur. Being in the old city of Ahmedabad means we are surrounded by history and very narrow streets that cars can't even fit through. It’s a bit of a maze around here, but once you find the Naka, we are right there on the corner. I’ve been running this place for a long time now. The building is old with thick walls that help keep the heat out during those brutal Gujarat summers. We sell all sorts of things, mostly items for the kitchen and daily household use. People from the pole come here every morning to get what they need for the day's meals. It’s a very social place; I hear all the gossip and the news before anyone else in the neighborhood does. The space is quite cramped because I try to stock as much as possible to save my neighbors a long trip to the bigger markets outside the old city. Sometimes I have to climb a rickety old ladder to get a box down from the very top shelf. It’s a bit disorganized at times, with bags of grain sitting on the floor, but I know exactly where everything is hidden. The noise of the scooters and the calls of the street vendors are the constant soundtrack to my day. I don't think I could ever work anywhere else; the rhythm of Kalupur is just in my blood. We keep the doors open and wait for the next person to walk in.