Naina General Store

Our shop, Naina General Store, is over in Indira Nagar at B 1905. We are right by the Gandhi Ashram and just across from the Amrapali Market. This part of Lucknow is always moving, and being near the market means there is no shortage of noise or people. We started this place because we wanted something of our own. The shop is full of everyday items like flour, oil, and biscuits. We have some plastic buckets hanging from the ceiling and stacks of notebooks for the school kids. It gets pretty busy in the evenings when everyone is heading home from work and realizes they need something for dinner. We try to remember what our regulars usually buy so we can have it ready for them. The building is nothing special, just a brick structure that we have been in for years. Sometimes the rain leaks in a little near the back door, but we just put a bucket there and carry on. We don't have a computer or any high-tech systems; we just write everything down in a thick register. It is just a small local business trying to stay afloat and serve the people around Indira Nagar. We spend a lot of time rearranging the bags of rice and lentils to make more room. It is a lot of lifting and moving things around, but that is part of the job. We like the rhythm of it.