Om Si Ram Kirana Store

Down on Kota Suket Road in Kudayla, you’ll find Om Si Ram Kirana Store. We are out in Ramganj Mandi area. It’s a bit of a dusty spot because of the road, but it’s where we are. The store is full of all the basics. We have big sacks of grains on the floor and jars of spices on the shelves. It’s a place where farmers and locals stop by. Sometimes they come on tractors and sometimes they just walk over from the nearby houses. We keep everything from matchboxes to big bags of cattle feed. The sun hits the front of the shop pretty hard in the afternoon, so we pull down a cloth shade. It’s a simple setup. I usually sit on a low stool behind the counter. We know most people by their names and what they usually buy. If someone is short a few rupees, we just write it down for next time. That’s how it is in Kudayla. We don't have any bright lights or music playing. Just the sound of the wind and the trucks passing by on the Suket road. It’s a quiet life mostly, punctuated by the rush of people in the mornings and evenings. We just keep the place clean as we can and make sure the tea and sugar never run out. The dog from the tea stall usually sleeps under the shade of our porch during the hottest part of the day.