Laxmi Beej Co

We are located right in the heart of Johari Bazar. It’s a very old part of the city and it stays incredibly busy from morning till night. Our shop is small and filled with the scent of dried seeds and grain. We have large sacks lined up against the walls, and sometimes they spill over a little bit onto the floor. Laxmi Beej Co has been a part of this market for many years. We deal with farmers and gardeners who come in looking for specific things for their crops. The noise from the street is constant—horns, people shouting, and the bells from the nearby temples. It can be a lot to handle if you aren't used to it. Our counters are made of old wood that has been worn smooth over time. We don't have computer systems for everything; a lot of it is still written down in heavy notebooks with blue ink. There isn't much room to move around when we have more than three customers inside. We spend our day weighing seeds on the scales and chatting about the weather, because the weather matters a lot to the people we serve. It’s a simple way of living. When the market finally shuts down for the night, we sweep up the stray seeds and pull down the heavy metal shutter. It's just a regular life in a very old, very busy street where everyone knows everyone else.