Swati Stores Kirana & General Store

Swati Stores Kirana & General Store has been standing here on Hazari Bhavan Road in Gosha Mahal for quite a long time now. My father started this place, and I just sort of took over when he got too old to lift the heavy sacks of rice. It isn't a fancy place with bright lights or anything like that. We just have shelves full of the usual stuff people need like soap, lentils, and different types of tea. Most days start pretty early because the milk van comes before the sun is even fully up. I usually spend the first hour just dusting things off and making sure everything is where it should be. Sometimes the inventory gets a bit messy because space is tight in here. People from around the neighborhood stop by, mostly to pick up things they forgot for dinner. We know most of them by their faces, even if we don't always remember every name. It gets quite hot in the afternoons, so we keep the fan running constantly. Sometimes the kids from the nearby houses come in for a single piece of chocolate or a packet of chips. We don't have a computerized system or anything, just a simple notebook for keeping track of what’s what. It’s just a regular life running a store here in Hyderabad. We stay open until the street gets quiet. It is a bit tiring but it’s what we do every day without much fuss.