Harbhajan Singh Chawla And Sons General Store

Putlighar Market is a busy place to have a shop. We are right there in the bazaar, and with Pipli Sahib Gurudwara nearby, there is always a sense of movement. The shop has been under our family name for quite some time now. My sons help out when they can, but mostly it’s me and a couple of boys handling the stock. We carry all the general items you’d expect. Flour, oil, lentils, and the rest. The morning starts with unloading the truck that brings the heavy sacks. My back feels it some days, but that’s the work. The market can get really loud with the horns and people shouting prices. Inside the store, it’s a bit quieter but still hectic. We have those tall wooden shelves that go all the way to the ceiling. I have to use a ladder for the things people don’t buy very often. Sometimes customers want to talk for twenty minutes about their families while I’m trying to count the eggs. You can’t tell them to hurry up, it’s just not how we do things here. We know most of the people who come in by their first names. It’s a community thing more than just a business. The floor is old stone and stays cool even when the Amritsar heat is pushing against the front door. We keep the accounts in a thick red book and settle things at the end of the month.