Anil General Store

Anil General Store is my shop here in Bangla Bazar. It’s located on the road that leads straight to Ashiana, right near the Allahabad Bank. We’ve been here for a long time now, serving the local people. The street, Jail Road, is always full of life and noise, which I’ve gotten used to over the years. I open up the shutters early in the morning to catch the people going to their jobs. We sell all kinds of household goods and daily items that people might run out of. It’s a one-man show mostly, though I have a boy who comes in to help with the heavy lifting when the big sacks of flour or rice arrive. I don't believe in making things complicated for the customers. You come in, you ask for what you need, and I find it for you in the stacks. The shelves are a bit disorganized if you look closely, but I know exactly where everything is hidden. The fans hum all day to keep the air moving inside the shop. We get a lot of regulars from the Ashiana Colony who come by almost every day. They come for the quality of the loose spices and the fact that we deal fairly with everyone. It’s a decent life, even if it means being on my feet for twelve hours a day. Sometimes the rain floods the road out front a bit, but we’ve got a high step at the door to keep the water out. I don’t use any marketing tricks or fancy signs. If the product is good, people always come back. That’s how it’s always been for us.