Amit General Stores

If you head down to Basti Bazar and find the Sukhmani Complex, we’re right there at Shop No. 10. It’s Amit General Stores. This market is always a bit of a mess with people shouting and bikes squeezing through the lanes, but that’s just how Basti Bazar is. Our shop is one of many, and it’s been here through a lot of changes in the complex. We keep a bit of everything, from small household bits to snacks and whatever else people ask for. The space is small, so things are piled pretty high. Sometimes I have to use a stool to reach the stuff on the top rows. It’s a lot of lifting and carrying boxes in the morning when the delivery trucks arrive. I’ve lived around here for a long time, so I know most of the people who walk through the door. We don't do anything special or have any big corporate rules. We just open up, sweep the front, and start the day. Sometimes the power goes out in the complex and we have to use flashlights for a bit, but we stay open. It’s a busy life, and there’s always something to count or clean. We don't have any fancy slogans. We just sell what we have and try to be helpful to the people who live and work around the bazaar because that is how a local business works.