Narang Karyana Stores

Narang Karyana Stores is tucked away at 2385/5 in Abdullapur Basti. It’s a typical corner shop where the smell of open sacks of grain and turmeric hits you as soon as you walk in. I spend a good part of my day weighing out lentils and sugar into small plastic bags. It’s a bit old-fashioned compared to the big supermarkets, but the people in the Basti seem to prefer it this way. We don’t have much space to move around once the new stock arrives on Tuesdays. The bags of flour are usually stacked up right near the entrance. I’ve lived in this area my whole life so I know who likes which brand of tea or which cooking oil. The ceiling is a bit high and it gets cold in the winter months, so I usually wear a thick sweater while I work. We have these old metal scales that have been here since the beginning. They still work just fine even if they look a bit rusty around the edges. There’s always a bit of dust in the air from the flour, but that’s just part of the job. I don't bother with fancy displays or neon signs. Just a simple board outside with the name on it. It’s honest work and it fills the day from sunrise to sunset. People come by for a kilo of this or a gram of that, and we chat about the weather or the local news.