Chemist & Druggist

Our place is located at 104/ 3 Gopal Lal Tagore Road in Kolkata. If you know the area, you know it’s always crowded and full of life. We’ve been on this road for a lot of years. The shop itself is tucked into a row of other businesses. It’s not very big, so we have to use every inch of the walls for storage. We keep things organized as best as we can, but it’s a constant battle with all the stock coming in. The floor is old tile that’s seen a lot of foot traffic over the decades. We don't have air conditioning, just a couple of big fans that move the humid Kolkata air around. Customers come in all day long, some just to ask for directions or have a chat. We know most of the people who live in the surrounding lanes. It’s a very local way of doing business. We don't use any fancy computer systems for everything; a lot of it is still written down in big ledgers. It works for us. The noise from the street—horns, people shouting, the trams—is just the background music to our day. We don't have a big sign out front, just the name on the shutters. It’s an honest living and we’ve been doing it the same way for a generation. No need to change what isn't broken. We just keep the doors open and wait for the regulars.