Walia Corner Shop

My shop is on Shivala road in the Hussainpura area of Amritsar. It is right across from Hotel Deep, so if you see that, you have found us. It is just a corner shop where we keep the usual stuff people need daily. Bread, eggs, some snacks, and cold drinks are what people buy most. I open up early because the workers going to the hotel or the nearby offices need their tea leaves or biscuits. The shop is not very big, so things are stacked up to the ceiling sometimes. I know most of the people who walk in by their first names since they live in the houses behind the main road. Amritsar gets really crowded during the tourist season, and we see a lot of new faces then, mostly people asking for directions to the temple or looking for a quick bottle of water. I have an old stool behind the counter where I sit when there is a lull, but that does not happen often. The street noise is constant, with rickshaws and horns, but you get used to it after a week. Sometimes the stock delivery is late because of the traffic on Shivala road, and I have to apologize to the aunties waiting for their specific brand of soap. It is just me and a young lad who helps with the heavy crates. We keep it simple and try to make sure we do not run out of the basics. It is a small life but it keeps us busy.