Jai Ambey General Store

Jai Ambey General Store sits right near the Chungi Chowki on Taragarh Road in Adarsh Nagar. It is a place where there is always a lot of noise from the vehicles passing by the check post. I usually get here before eight to set things up. The shelves are packed with everything from toothbrushes to plastic buckets. Sometimes it feels like there isn't enough room for all the boxes that come in from the distributors. We have spent years in this same spot, watching the road get busier and the buildings around us change. People from the nearby houses come in for their daily needs, like a single pouch of shampoo or a kilo of sugar. It gets quite warm in the middle of the day, so I usually sit near the counter and organize the small change in the drawer. Dealing with coins is always a bit of a headache. The floor is made of old stone and it stays relatively cool. When the school nearby lets out, a bunch of kids usually rush in for candies or cold drinks, and it gets a bit chaotic for twenty minutes. After that, it settles back down into the regular rhythm of the afternoon. It is just a simple way of making a living, and we are used to the rhythm of this specific corner near the chowki.