Shri Devi Store

If you're walking down 33 Feet Road in Koramangala, you’ll probably pass us without thinking much about it. Shri Devi Store has been right here next to the Sarpanch Colony entrance for as long as I can remember. The shop is a bit cramped because we try to fit everything people might need into one small space. We’ve got bags of rice stacked up near the entrance and those little packets of spices hanging from the ceiling. It’s not the most organized place in the world, but we usually know where everything is. My father started this, and now I’m the one mostly sitting behind the counter. Jamalpur can get busy in the evenings, and that’s when most people stop by on their way home from work. They usually want some milk or maybe some snacks for their kids. We don’t have those fancy scanners or anything, just a notebook and a calculator that’s missing a button. The floor is concrete and a bit uneven, and the fan makes a clicking sound that drives me crazy sometimes. But it’s home. We know most of the people who live in the colony by their first names. We hear all the gossip about who’s getting married or who’s moving away. It’s just a simple corner shop. We don’t have a big staff, just family mostly. We keep the doors open late most nights because you never know who might need something for dinner at the last minute.