Rakesh Traders

Rakesh Traders is based in a small village called Kootah. We are located in the Tehsil of Hira Nagar within the Kathua district. Our place is very close to National Highway 1, so we see a lot of long-distance trucks passing by every hour. Living and working in Kootah is quite different from being in a big city. It’s a bit more relaxed, though the highway brings a lot of noise. We deal in various trade goods that the local people and farmers need. Most of our day is spent talking to folks from the village or neighboring areas who stop by. We have a simple shop front and a backyard for storage. We aren't trying to be some big national company. We just want to provide what the people here need. The morning starts with opening up and maybe sweeping the front area. We drink a lot of tea while we wait for the next person to come in. Sometimes the highway gets blocked or there’s a lot of rain, which slows things down, but we just take it as it comes. We’ve lived in this district all our lives so we know everyone around. It’s a quiet way to live, mostly focusing on the seasons and the local trade. We don't have any big slogans or anything like that. We just open our doors every morning and see what the day brings us. That is the way it has always been.