Raju Bartan Bhandar

If you go to Ramganj Bazar and look towards Ghora Nikas Road, you will find our shop at 299. It is called Raju Bartan Bhandar. The place is full of stainless steel, copper, and brass utensils. It is quite loud because someone is always moving a stack of thalis or a heavy kadhai. The shop is narrow and the shelves go all the way to the ceiling. We have to use a ladder to reach the big pots at the top. It’s a family-run thing. My uncle usually sits at the front, and I help with the customers. People come here when they are setting up a new kitchen or when there is a wedding and they need to buy gifts. Ramganj is a very busy market, so there is always noise from the rickshaws and people talking. We don't have air conditioning, just a couple of old ceiling fans that buzz. Sometimes customers bargain a lot, and we spend a long time discussing the price of a pressure cooker. We keep it real and don't use any fancy sales talk. If a pot has a small scratch, we show it to the customer. It’s about being fair. We’ve been in this spot for years and the shop has its own rhythm that we are just used to now. It gets hot and crowded in the afternoons, but we just keep going, making sure everyone finds the right size spoon or bucket they came for without any fuss.