Shri Laxmi Kirana Stores

Shri Laxmi Kirana Stores is at S 28 in the Jawahar Nagar Shopping Centre. It’s a basic grocery shop. We have shelves full of everything from lentils to soap. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze inside because we try to fit as much as possible on the racks for our customers. The floor is tile and we sweep it every morning before we open up the shutters. We spend our days weighing out things and putting them in bags for people. It’s a lot of standing around and waiting for people to come in. The shopping center is usually busy in the mornings and then again in the evenings when people are coming home from work. We know most of the people who live nearby. They come in for their daily needs and we chat for a bit. We don't have any fancy displays or bright lights. Just a couple of tube lights on the ceiling that hum. There’s a small counter where we keep the cash and a notebook for accounts. Sometimes the kids from the neighborhood come in for sweets and we have to keep an eye on them. It’s a quiet kind of work most of the time. We have a radio that plays in the background to keep us company. It’s not a big business, just a local store where we know most of the names. We’ve been at this spot for a long time and don't plan on moving anywhere else.