Solanki Kirana Store

Up here in Suket on the Kota Zulmi Road, life moves at its own pace. Our kirana store is a basic place where we keep the essentials that families around here use every day. The walls were painted blue years ago and they have faded a bit where the sun hits them. We have big sacks of rice and wheat standing on wooden pallets to keep them off the floor. Sometimes a stray cat wanders in looking for a cool spot to sleep near the grain bags. The weighing scale is an older model but it works fine for what we need. We spend time filling small packets of spices or sugar when the shop is empty. There is a small television on a high shelf that stays on for the news or some cricket. The Zulmi Road can get quite muddy when it rains, so we have to keep a mop handy near the entrance. Most of our customers are people we have known for years, so we end up talking about the weather or the local crops while they wait for their groceries to be packed. We don't have a computer system, everything is written down in a thick ledger with a red cover. It is a slow way of doing things but it works for us. The shop stays open until late evening when the street lights finally flicker on and the birds go quiet.