Vikash Kirana Store

Vikash Kirana Store has been at number 69 in Malviya Nagar for as long as I can remember. I took over the daily running of the shop from my father several years ago. Not much has changed inside since his time. We still keep the same jars and the same wooden shelves filled with staples like lentils, rice, spices, and tea leaves. The space is packed quite tight so I have to be careful when I am reaching for things high up on the top shelf. It is just a typical neighborhood grocery store where everyone knows everyone else. Most of our customers live just a few houses away and they have been coming here for decades. I know exactly what Mrs. Gupta wants when she walks in, and I always keep some extra candies ready for the kids who come by after school. The whole shop smells like a mix of dried chilies, soap, and unrefined sugar. It is a smell that I have grown up with. I spend a lot of time weighing out grains on the old scale and packing them into brown paper bags. Malviya Nagar is a big place with lots of traffic, but our little corner stays pretty much the same. Sometimes the delivery trucks block the lane and it gets a bit noisy with the scooters honking, but we just go about our work. I have a couple of boys who help me move the heavy sacks of flour and oil tins. We are just a local family keeping things going. (259 words)