Shantosh General Store

Shantosh General Store is right in the village of Khandadeuli in Ganjam. We are near the fire station. You can hear them testing the sirens sometimes and it’s very loud. The village is mostly quiet otherwise. Most of our work depends on the season. When it's harvest time, everyone is out in the fields and the shop stays empty until late evening. Then suddenly everyone comes at once. We have to keep a lot of stocks like oil and pulses. The floor is made of rough cement and it’s hard to keep clean. I usually start the day by splashing some water outside to keep the dust down. Ganjam can get very humid. The fans just push the hot air around. We have some wooden shelves that my father built a long time ago. They are sturdy but the wood is dark now. We don't have a computer or anything, just a big notebook where I write down what people owe. Some people pay at the end of the month. It's how things work here. My nephew helps me move the heavy bags of rice. We have a small radio that plays old songs in the background. It keeps us company when there are no customers. The fire station guys come over for snacks sometimes. It’s just a simple village shop. We stay open until it gets too dark to see the path clearly.