Shakti Emporium

Shakti Emporium sits right on the Main Road in Chaura Bazar, directly opposite the main market area. If you know Chaura Bazar, you know how packed it gets. There are people everywhere, bicycles, and vendors yelling out their prices. Our shop is right in the middle of all that noise. We sell mostly fabrics and some ready-made pieces that we keep stacked up on the tall shelves. It’s a long, narrow shop, and we have these old ladders we use to reach the stuff at the top. Sometimes it feels like the whole building is made of cloth. I’ve spent many years behind this counter, watching the seasons change through the front window. In the winter, we have the heavy wools out, and in the summer, it’s all light cottons. The floor is a bit uneven, and the lights flicker sometimes, but we are used to it. Customers come in and spend a long time looking at different patterns. We don't rush them; we just let them look while we fold back the things the last person didn't want. It’s a lot of tidying up, really. We don't have any big sales pitches or fancy displays. We just put the new rolls of fabric near the front and wait for someone to notice them. It’s a busy life in a busy market, and by the time we close the shutters at night, we are usually pretty exhausted but ready to do it again tomorrow.