Sathyam Kirana Stores

We are tucked away behind Gandhi Gyan Mandir here in Koti. It’s a bit quieter than the main road, which is nice. Sathyam Kirana Stores is where we spend most of our waking hours. We sell the basic stuff—flour, sugar, oil, and those little packets of shampoo. The building is old and has that specific smell of dried grains and cardboard. We don't have a big sign, just enough for people to find us. My father started this and now I’m the one mostly looking after the stock. We get our supplies from the wholesale market every few days. It's a lot of counting and checking. Sometimes the rain leaks a little near the back door, so we have to move the sacks around. We aren't trying to be the biggest store in Hyderabad, just a reliable one for the people living in these back lanes. It’s a small community here. You see the same faces every morning. We chat about the weather or the price of onions while I weigh out the goods. It’s honest work. Nothing really changes much from year to year, except maybe the brands of biscuits we carry. We just keep the lights on and wait for the next customer to walk through the door. The metal shutters are heavy to lift in the morning but it’s part of the routine. We just want to keep things going as they always have been for our family and for the neighbors who rely on us. It is a quiet life.