Santosh General Marchant

I’ve been running Santosh General Marchant for a good while now, right next to the Dafti Mill on Jail Road. Being beside the mill means there is always a bit of noise and a lot of people moving around. Most of my customers work nearby or live in the lanes behind Bangla Bazar. The shop is filled with all sorts of things, from washing powder to bags of rice. I don’t really have a system for where everything goes, I just know where I put it last. If someone asks for a specific brand of tea, I usually find it under a stack of something else. Lucknow summers are tough, and the shade from the mill building helps keep the shop a bit cooler in the afternoons. I spend my time weighing out sugar or counting change. Some days are slow and I just watch the trucks go by the mill. Other days, everyone wants something at the exact same time. It gets a bit chaotic with the narrow space we have, but we manage to get everyone what they need. I try not to let the stock run too low, but sometimes the suppliers forget us. It’s a basic business, nothing more. I just want to make sure the locals have a place nearby to get their kitchen staples without having to travel into the main city markets. It’s a living, and it keeps me busy from morning until night.