Basanta Stores

Down in Bauria, on North Mill Road in the Radhanagar part of Howrah, you’ll find Basanta Stores. It’s a simple neighborhood shop. We’ve been here serving the local people for quite some time. The road outside can get pretty muddy during the monsoon, but the regulars still come in. We sell the basic things people need for their homes like rice, lentils, and soap. It’s not a huge place, just a front room with wooden shelves reaching up to the ceiling. We spend a lot of our time weighing out items or stocking the small jars of candy near the counter. The light inside isn’t the brightest, but we know where every single item is kept. Most of our customers live just a few minutes away in the surrounding houses. We hear all the local news and gossip while we wrap up their purchases in old newspapers or bags. There isn't anything corporate about how we run things. If someone is a few rupees short, we usually just tell them to bring it next time. That’s how it works in a place like this. The mill nearby means there are always people moving around the area. We just stay here, keeping the doors open and making sure there’s enough stock for the next day. It's a modest life, but we like being part of the Bauria community.