Manika

You will find us at 8, Italgacha Road, Kolkata - 700079. Manika isn't a very big place, just a small shop tucked away on this busy street. I’ve been working here for quite some time now, and the neighbors all know me by name. The shop front is simple, and honestly, the paint could use a fresh coat one of these days, but the inside is where we spend all our time anyway. It gets quite noisy with the traffic on Italgacha Road, especially during the evening rush when everyone is heading home. I try to keep things organized, but sometimes boxes get stacked up in the corners when new stock arrives. It’s just the way it goes when you’re running a small business by yourself or with just one helper. Most of our customers live right here in the lanes nearby. They drop in to see what we have or just to say hello while they’re out buying vegetables. We don’t have a website or anything like that because word of mouth usually does the job for us. If someone likes what they bought, they tell their sister or their friend, and that is how we keep going. It’s a simple life here at number 8. We open when the sun is up and stay until it’s dark. Sometimes we close a bit early if the rain is too heavy and the street starts to flood a little in the monsoon.