Sonia General Stores

Opening the shop every morning at Yeshwant Niwas Road takes a bit of effort because the shutter is heavy. Sonia General Stores has been in this spot at Panchwati Apartment for a while now. It’s not a huge place, but we manage to fit a lot of stuff on the shelves. You’ll see bags of rice stacked near the back and rows of soaps and shampoos near the counter. The traffic outside 9/2/1 is usually loud, especially during the afternoons when everyone is heading towards Yeshwant Road. People from the apartments upstairs come down for small things like a loaf of bread or a packet of biscuits when they realize they’ve run out. Sometimes the delivery trucks block the narrow lane, and there's a lot of honking. I spend a lot of time just dusting the bottles because the Indore dust gets everywhere. It’s mostly just me and occasionally a helper here. We don’t have a fancy computer system; everything is mostly noted down in a thick register. The light inside is a bit dim because the building blocks the sun for most of the day. In the evenings, the street lights flicker on and the crowd changes to office workers heading home. It's a steady routine. We keep common things people need for their kitchens and bathrooms. There isn't much space to walk around once two or three customers are inside. We just try to keep things stocked so nobody leaves empty-handed.