Lovely Karyana Store

Amritsar has many corners, and our spot is on Ram Tirth Road. We call it Lovely Karyana Store, and we are in Shop No. 8. This is the New Colony Gwal Mandi area. It’s a residential part of town, so we see a lot of families. A karyana store is essential for things like flour, rice, and pulses. We keep these in big open bags or stacked in sacks at the back. The shop has a specific smell—a mix of raw grains and soap. We open early because that's when people want their supplies for the day's cooking. My hands are usually a bit dusty from handling the goods. We don't have fancy displays. Things are just where they fit. We've been in Gwal Mandi for quite a while now. You get to know who is getting married or who is sick just by what they are buying. It’s a small community feeling. The road outside can get muddy when it rains, and that makes a mess of the floor. We just sweep it out and keep going. It’s not a complicated business. We buy stuff, we put it on the shelf, and we sell it to the neighbors. It’s hard work on the feet, but it's what we do. We try to keep the scales accurate and make sure we don't run out of the basic things everyone needs. There is always someone coming in for a last-minute item.