Rakesh Kirana

Out here in Pratappura on the Kota Rawatbhata Road, things move at a bit of a slower pace. This is where Rakesh Kirana is located, right in the Chechat area. It is a simple place where the locals come to get their wheat ground or pick up their monthly supplies. We have those big metal tins for oil and glass jars for candies that the children like. The shop isn't very large, but we make use of every inch of wall space for hanging packets of biscuits and shampoos. Every morning, I sweep the front area because the road can get quite sandy. We don't have any fancy computers; everything is done by hand. When the monsoon comes, the sound on the tin roof is so loud we can hardly hear what people are asking for. We keep a bit of everything, from washing powder to mustard seeds. It’s mostly the same people coming in week after week. We know who prefers which brand of tea and who likes their spices extra hot. It’s a lot of manual labor, carrying crates and moving sacks around, but it's what we do. The shop is more than just a place of business; it’s where we see our friends and keep up with what is happening in the village. We just try to stay stocked up and keep the doors open for whoever needs us to get their chores finished.