Sitaram Uttam Prakash

Ramganj Bazar is a place with a lot of history and we are right in the thick of it at Mehndi Ka Chowk. Shop number 353 is our little corner of the world. The name Sitaram Uttam Prakash has been around for a very long time now. It is a family business and we take it one day at a time. Most mornings, the market is slow to wake up, so I have time to drink my tea and plan out what needs to be done. Once the clock hits eleven, it is usually non-stop until we close. We handle a lot of different items and sometimes the shop feels like a bit of a maze. I try to keep it organized, but with so many people coming in and out, it is difficult. I do not use any fancy computer systems to track the stock. I just know what we have and where it sits on the shelf. If I can't find something, it is probably just buried under a pile of other things. The neighbors here are all like family to us. We watch each other's shops if someone has to run an errand or grab a snack. You do not get that kind of feeling in the big shopping malls. It is loud and it is messy here, but it feels real. I have spent most of my life working on this street.