Shankar Ki Store

Shankar Ki Store has been in Bajaj Khana for as long as I can remember. It's a bit of a tight squeeze inside because we try to stock everything people might need for their houses. We've got pulses, soaps, some snacks, and all the basic stuff like flour and sugar. The shelves go all the way to the ceiling, so we use a wooden ladder to reach the top items every day. It’s an old building with thick walls, but it stays cool even when the sun is hitting the street outside. Most of the people who come in live right around the corner or in the next lane. We know their names and what they usually buy every week for their families. Sometimes the kids come in for a single piece of candy after school. It’s not a supermarket where you take a cart, you just tell us what you want and we gather it up for you. We write down the totals on small slips of paper with a blue pen. It gets busy in the evenings when everyone is coming home from work and the street is full of bikes. The lane is narrow here, so bikes are always parked out front in a messy row. We don't do home delivery or anything, people just walk over and carry their bags. It's a simple life running a store like this in a place like Bajaj Khana. We talk about the weather or the local news with whoever stops by for a minute. Nothing much changes here, and that’s fine with us. We just keep the lights on and the shelves full.