Radharani Bhandar

Radharani Bhandar sits on M M Shakur Road in the Kamarhati part of Kolkata. The pincode is 700058 and the street is always quite busy with people moving back and forth all the time. Inside the shop, things are piled up according to what people ask for most. We start the day by pulling up the metal shutters and letting the morning light in. Kolkata can get very humid, so the air inside feels heavy sometimes, especially in the long afternoons. We have different bags of grains sitting on the floor and jars of snacks on the higher shelves. It is a basic setup where we know exactly where every small packet is hidden. The neighbors from around Kamarhati walk in to get their daily supplies for their kitchens. We do not have a lot of extra space for sitting around, so most of the time is spent standing behind the wooden counter. M M Shakur Road has its own noise that we have gotten used to over the years. Sometimes a car honks too loud or a dog barks near the door, but that is just how it is in this part of town. We keep a ledger for the daily sales and use a small handheld calculator for the math. It is a plain way to earn a living, just selling things and keeping the shelves filled. Nothing very fancy happens here on a Tuesday or a Friday. We just focus on the bags and the jars.