Suman Medicine

Being located in Gopikantpurbankura near the Jhulpai School More means we see a lot of activity throughout the day. The school kids are always running past in the mornings, and the area around the junction gets crowded with cycles and rickshaws by noon. Our shop, Suman Medicine, is a fairly small space, but we try to keep it as orderly as possible. There are stacks of boxes near the back that we need to sort through every Monday morning. It’s a quiet life here in Sonamukhi, though the heat can be a bit much during the summer months. We have a ceiling fan that hums constantly, which is basically the soundtrack to our workday. People from the nearby villages often stop by when they are heading to the market. We spend time talking to them, mostly about the weather or how the crops are doing this season. It’s not a high-pressure environment at all. We just sit on our stools, wait for the next person to come in, and keep an eye on the stock levels. The shelves are made of old wood and have been here as long as I can remember. Sometimes we run out of space and have to get creative with where we put things. It’s just a regular local shop. We don’t have a website or anything like that; we just rely on people knowing where we are by the Jhulpai School More.