Arjun Karyana Store

Our shop is over at 11795, street 3, in Abdullapur Basti. We are very lucky to be located near the Radha Krishna Mandir here in Ludhiana. On festival days, the whole area smells like flowers and incense, and we get a lot of people stopping by after they finish their prayers. We sell the usual karyana items like pulses, rice, and cooking oils. It’s a small space, so we have to use every inch of the walls for shelving. There’s a big wooden counter where we stand most of the day. We don’t have a lot of help, usually just one of us and maybe a cousin if it gets really busy. The neighborhood is full of working families, so we see a lot of people in the evenings when they are heading home to cook dinner. We try to keep things simple. If we don’t have something, we tell you plainly. No fancy talk or trying to sell you things you don’t need. We use brown paper bags for most things. The building is old and the paint is peeling a bit in the corners, but it’s sturdy. We like being part of the Basti. It’s where we belong. Every day is pretty much the same, weighing out grains and chatting about the weather or the local news. We keep the floor swept and the jars filled, and that is enough for us.