Vijay Kirana & General Store

Our shop is at number 20 in Sethi Colony, and it has been the same way for a long time now. Vijay Kirana & General Store is basically where the locals stop when they realize they ran out of milk or salt in the middle of cooking. The shelves are quite high, so we have a small stool to reach the top where we keep the bigger containers of oil. It is a neighborhood place, so the pace is usually steady but not rushed. In the mornings, we get the fresh bread and milk crates delivered, and that is the busiest hour. After that, it is mostly elderly folks or housewives coming in for their daily needs. We have a big jar of colorful candies right by the weighing scale for the kids. Sometimes the labels on the jars get a bit faded from the sun coming through the door, but everyone knows what is inside. It is not the kind of store where you find fancy imported chocolates, just the basic stuff that every kitchen needs. The floor is made of old stone that stays cool in the heat. We keep a diary for the accounts, and sometimes my handwriting is so bad even I cannot read it later. There is always a crate of soft drinks near the entrance, and the empty bottles pile up in the corner until the truck comes to collect them. It is just a simple life here, serving the colony day after day.