Harishchandra Provision Store

Harishchandra Provision Store is my place in Aliganj, Lucknow. We are located near the Menz Salon and very close to the Hanuman Mandir. Aliganj is a nice neighborhood to work in, and being near the temple means we see a lot of activity and people on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I have been running this provision store for a long time, and the building itself is getting a bit old now, but it still does the job perfectly fine. I keep the basic staples that every kitchen needs, like flour, rice, different pulses, and cooking oil. There is always a lot of work to do, like weighing out items into smaller bags or cleaning the dust off the glass jars on the counter. The Lucknow heat in the middle of summer can be quite something, so we have a single ceiling fan that runs all day long to keep us going. I usually sit on a small wooden stool near the entrance and wait for customers to come in. We do not have any computer system here; I just use my memory and a small notebook to keep track of everything I sell. Many of the people who come here have been my loyal customers for many years. We talk about their families or the local politics while I pack their bags. It is a slow and steady kind of life.