Deepak Karayana Store

Deepak Karayana Store has been on GT Road in the Rana Wadi area for a long time now. We open up the shutters early in the morning when the air is still a bit cool and the trucks are just starting to move. There’s always a smell of dried spices and flour in the air which I’ve grown to like over the years. We keep the big sacks of rice and lentils near the front so they’re easy to scoop out for customers. The wooden counter is worn down in the middle from where people lean while they wait for us to weigh their items. We have a big ledger where we write down what the regulars owe us, though sometimes my handwriting is so bad I can’t even read it. The shelves are packed with everything from soap to cooking oil, and sometimes it’s hard to find a specific brand in the back. It’s a lot of lifting and carrying heavy bags, so my back usually hurts by the end of the day. We have a small television in the corner that we keep on the news, but mostly it’s just background noise. People from the neighborhood stop by not just to buy things, but to tell us the local gossip. We don't have any fancy scanners or computers, just a simple scale and a calculator that’s missing the ‘zero’ button. It’s a basic life but it keeps us busy from dawn till dusk every day.