Aakansha General Store

Our shop is right on Kotwali Road in Bhopal, very close to Shakoor Khan Masjid. If you know that area, you know it stays quite crowded with people coming and going all day. Being a general store here means we see a bit of everything. We have been sitting in this spot for a good while, watching the street change but the basic routine stays the same. The shop is filled with all kinds of small items that people realize they forgot to buy elsewhere. It is a tight space sometimes, especially when we get a new shipment of goods and have to find a place for every box. We don’t have a big team or anything, just us making sure things are on the shelves and the floor is swept. The noise from the road is constant, but you get used to it after a few weeks. People stop by after prayers at the masjid or while they are doing their other shopping along the road. It’s not a shiny place with big lights, just a regular store where you can get what you need without a fuss. We mostly deal with the locals who have lived in this part of Bhopal for years. They know our names and we know theirs. It’s just a basic way to make a living, keeping the inventory moving and chatting with the neighbors who pop in for a minute.