Balaji Kirana Store

I usually get here around seven in the morning to open up Balaji Kirana Store. It’s right across from the SBI on Ganj Road, so there is always someone standing around waiting for the bank doors to unlock. I start by moving the heavy crates of milk inside and checking if the bread delivery arrived yet. The shop isn't very large, but we manage to fit a lot in here. We have all the basic things people in this part of town need, like different kinds of lentils, cooking oils, and those small packets of shampoo. My brother helps out in the evenings when it gets really busy with people heading home from work. The shelves are a bit crowded and sometimes I lose track of where the smaller spice packets are, but we find them eventually. Ganj Road is quite noisy with all the scooters and the dust coming off the street, so I have to wipe the counter down every few hours. It’s a simple life running a grocery shop. Customers come in for a bit of salt or some sugar and we end up talking about the weather or the price of onions. We don’t have fancy displays or anything like that. It is just a regular place where you get your kitchen supplies without much fuss. Sometimes the electricity goes out and we have to use the old hand torch to see the back shelves, which is always a bit of a mess. It’s just how things go here.