Orchard Fresh

Down on Banneraghatta Road, things are always a bit dusty and loud. Orchard Fresh is tucked into the Classic Orchard Colony at 176/A. It’s a straightforward shop where we handle a lot of produce and groceries every single day. The morning starts early here, usually before the sun is even fully up, when the trucks arrive with crates of fruit. We spend a lot of time sorting through things, picking out the stuff that isn’t good anymore and piling up the fresh mangoes or apples. My back usually aches by lunch from moving the boxes around. The floor is concrete and often has a bit of dirt on it because of all the foot traffic from the colony. We know most of the people who live nearby, they come in for their daily milk or some vegetables for dinner. It’s not a fancy supermarket with bright neon lights. We just have shelves and crates and a counter where we count change. Sometimes the power goes out and we have to use flashlights to see the back of the store. It’s a regular neighborhood business. We don’t spend money on big ads or anything like that. We just focus on what’s in the crates and making sure we don’t run out of eggs. The traffic on the main road is a headache, but inside the colony, it’s a bit calmer.