Rakhi General Stopr

People always ask why the sign says Stopr instead of store, but we just haven't changed it since it went up in Dal Bazar. It’s been here a long time. My uncle used to run things, and now I’m here most mornings before the sun gets too hot. Ludhiana is a busy place, especially around here with all the traffic and people moving about. We keep basic things like flour, soaps, and those snacks the kids like after school. Sometimes the delivery trucks are late and we have to wait around, which gets a bit boring. I spend a lot of time sweeping the dust from the front step because it never stops coming in. It’s a small space, so things get cramped if three people come in at once. We don’t have fancy shelves or anything, just the old wooden ones that hold everything up. Most of the people who come in are the same ones every day from the houses nearby. They know where everything is, so they usually just grab what they need and leave the change on the counter. It’s not a big operation, just a way to keep things going. I try to keep the milk cold, but the fridge acts up when it’s humid. We just do what we can to keep the stock fresh and the lights on. It’s quiet in the afternoons, then gets fast around dinner time when everyone forgot something for their cooking.