Suraj General Store

My shop, Suraj General Store, sits right here on Jail Road in the Bangla Bazar area. It is a simple place where we sell the usual things people need for their houses. I spend a lot of time just arranging bottles and packets so they look okay on the shelves. Lucknow can be a busy place, and this road gets its fair share of traffic throughout the day. I open up early in the morning before it gets too hot. Usually, the first few customers are just looking for milk or bread. Later on, it’s mostly mothers coming in for spices or snacks for their kids. I don’t have a big staff, it’s mostly just me here. Sometimes the deliveries are late, and I have to tell people to come back tomorrow for their favorite biscuits. That’s just part of the job I guess. The floor needs sweeping a lot because of all the dust from the street, but I do my best to keep it clean enough. I’ve got a small stool behind the counter where I sit and listen to the radio when it’s quiet. It’s a steady life and I like seeing the same faces every week. We don't have any big signs or bright lights, just the name on the front and whatever we have in stock that day. It's a plain shop for plain needs and that seems to work for everyone around here.