Gupta General Store

Running this store in Khala Bazar keeps me quite busy throughout the day. We are situated right across from the post office, so there is always a crowd of people waiting in line or coming out of there. Many of them drop in to buy a bottle of water or some small thing while they wait. Then you have the kids from Yashoda School. They come in groups during the afternoon, mostly looking for candies, pencils, or notebooks. Lucknow gets really hot in the summer months, and the shop can feel quite stuffy even with the fan going full speed. We have all sorts of things packed onto the shelves, from soaps and detergents to spices and pulses. Sometimes it feels like there is no space left to move around. I have to spend a lot of time checking the expiry dates and making sure nothing is sitting for too long. My father started this work and I just continued with it. It is not a very modern place, just some old racks and a heavy metal shutter we pull down at night. Dealing with the wholesale suppliers can be a bit of a headache sometimes when the deliveries are late. But the local families come here for their monthly supplies, so we have to stay stocked up. I know most of the customers by their names because they have been coming here for years. It’s just a regular life here in the market.