Brij Karyana Store

More time has been spent inside Brij Karyana Store than in my own living room. Located right here in Ludhiana, this shop is where I handle the daily needs of the neighborhood. It’s a karyana store, so we have everything from lentils and rice to soap and matches. The bags of flour are stacked near the entrance, and sometimes they get a bit heavy to move around. I don’t have a fancy layout. Things are where they’ve always been for years. If a customer can't find the turmeric, they just ask me and I point to the third shelf on the left. Ludhiana can be a very hot place, so the cool shadows inside the shop are a relief in the summer. I know most of the families around here. I’ve seen their kids grow up and start coming in to buy their own snacks. We don't do any big advertising or sales. People come here because they know the prices are fair and I won't give them old stock. The scale we use is an old one, but it’s accurate. My day starts early, before the sun is really up, to get the fresh supplies in. By the time evening rolls around, I’m usually quite tired, but there’s a satisfaction in closing the shutter knowing everything is in order. It’s just a simple life of buying and selling, one kilo at a time.