Kartik Stores

People know us here in Lake Town mostly because we've been on Canal Street for a good while now. Being near the club means there is always some noise or some event going on around us. Mornings start early, usually around 7 or 8, when the first few people walk by to get their milk or bread before heading off to work. The shop isn't huge, but we pack a lot into these shelves. Crowds gather in the evenings when everyone is coming home. You’ll see us moving boxes around or trying to find space for the new stock that just arrived. Sometimes the fan makes a bit of a clicking sound, but we’re used to it. Faces walking through the door are mostly known to us by name. In this part of Kolkata, that is just how it is. If it’s raining hard, people stand under the awning for a bit, waiting for it to clear up while they chat about the football scores or whatever is in the news. Nothing fancy happens here. It is just a regular place where you can pick up what you need for the kitchen or the house. Most of the time, I’m behind the counter, or my cousin is helping out when it gets busy. Keeping things simple is our way, and we try to make sure we don't run out of the basics that everyone asks for every single day. Organizing everything is a bit of a challenge when so many items come in every week.