Nasiruddin General Store

Out here in Kishangarh on the Khanpura Road, Nasiruddin General Store is just a part of the daily landscape. We open up before the sun is fully up because that’s when the early buses start running. The shop smells a bit like incense and laundry soap most of the time. We have rows of jars filled with pulses and grains, and we spend a good chunk of our morning weighing them out into smaller bags. It’s a repetitive task but it keeps us busy. The walls are painted an off-white color that’s faded over the years. We have a lot of stuff hanging from the ceiling hooks too, like packets of chips and plastic toys for the kids. It saves floor space since the shop isn't very wide. Sometimes the delivery guys are late and we have to wait around on the sidewalk, watching the trucks go by. We don't have a computer or anything, just a simple calculator and a pen. Most of our customers are people who live in the nearby lanes. They come in for a single egg or a matchbox or maybe a kilo of sugar. We keep a bit of tea and some local snacks too. It’s a quiet life for the most part, just watching the seasons change from behind the wooden counter. We just keep the shelves full and the door open for whoever stops.