Maa Sitala

Maa Sitala is located right on the Main Road in Amta Bazar. Being in such a busy part of Howrah means we see people from all over the area every day. The shop is small and we don’t have any fancy decorations or bright lights. It’s just a simple place where we keep the usual household items that people need. We open the shutters early in the morning because that is when the bazaar is most alive with people buying their daily food. The traffic outside can be quite loud and it gets a bit dusty sometimes, but that is just how life is on the Main Road. I run the place with help from my family members when they aren't busy with other things. We know most of the people who walk in by their first names. It isn't a high-tech operation; we just use a simple counter and some old shelves to hold the stock. Sometimes we run out of certain items if the delivery truck is late, but we try to manage. People stop by on their way home to grab one or two things they forgot. We aren't trying to be a big supermarket or anything like that. We just want to keep the shop running and stay part of the community here in Amta. It’s a lot of sitting and waiting some days, but we like talking to the neighbors who drop in.