Sri Balajii Sai Manikanta Kirana & General Store

We are located at 1-20-452/1 in West Venkatapuram. This is the Alwal area of Hyderabad. The shop has been here for a while now. Most days start early when we open the shutters. It’s usually quiet in the morning but gets busy once the sun is up. People come in for basic things like milk or soap. Sometimes we have to move boxes around to find what someone wants. The name on the board is long, Sri Balajii Sai Manikanta Kirana & General Store, but people just stop by because it’s on their way home. Hyderabad gets very hot in the summer months. We try to keep the shop cool with a small fan. It’s a bit dusty because of the road outside. We stock things like rice, dal, and different kinds of snacks. There isn't much space to walk inside when the new stock arrives. We spend a lot of time checking the expiry dates on the biscuits. Neighbors stop to chat while they buy their groceries. It’s just a normal store doing normal business every day. We don't have fancy displays or anything like that. Just shelves filled with stuff people need for their kitchens. Sometimes the power goes out and we have to use a torch to find things. It’s a simple life here in West Venkatapuram. We know most of the kids who come in for chocolate after school. That’s pretty much how things go here at our spot in Alwal.