Akshay General Store

You can find Akshay General Store over on Durga Mandir Road in the Hirapur neighborhood of Dhanbad. We are situated right near the Shiv Mandir, which is where everyone gathers. Our shop is full of the little things people need throughout the day, like pens, batteries, packets of chips, and some basic medicines. It is a small place, so we have to use every inch of space we have, with items hanging from the ceiling and stacked in the corners. The floor is made of old cement and has some cracks, but it’s sturdy enough. We spend a lot of time just chatting with the neighbors who stop by for a single item but end up staying for ten minutes to talk about the weather or the price of vegetables. It’s a noisy street with plenty of bikes and rickshaws going past all the time. We don't have a computer to keep track of everything, just a simple notebook where we write down what we owe the suppliers. The fan above the counter wobbles a bit, but it keeps us cool enough during the humid months. Running this store is just about being there for the local people when they run out of something at home. We keep it simple and don't try to be anything we aren't. It is just a basic general store doing its thing on a busy road in Dhanbad.