Bansi Kirana Store

Bansi Kirana Store is right on Hapur Railway Road. If you know the area, you know it stays quite busy because of the trains coming and going. I open up the shutters very early in the morning, usually around six, before the first big rush of commuters starts. The store is packed with sacks of rice, pulses, and rows of biscuit packets. It smells like a mix of spices and laundry soap inside. I’ve been sitting on this wooden counter for more years than I care to count. My son helps out during the day, especially when the heavy oil tins need moving. We don't have fancy barcodes or scanners; I just write everything down in a thick ledger book with a blue pen. Railway Road is always dusty, so I spend a lot of time wiping the glass jars of candy. People from the nearby colonies come here for their monthly rations because they know we don't overcharge. It’s a small space, and sometimes it feels a bit cramped when three or four people are trying to buy things at once. We keep the basics like sugar, salt, tea leaves, and whatever else a kitchen needs. Sometimes the monkeys from the trees nearby try to grab a packet of chips, so we have to keep a stick handy. It is just a regular life running a grocery store near the tracks. It gets the job done.