Sharma Karyana Stores

Sharma Karyana Stores is right here in Ludhiana. We don’t have a fancy street name to give you, but everyone around this neighborhood knows where we are. It’s a typical karyana shop, full of sacks of grains, lentils, and all the spices you’d need for cooking at home. The air always smells a bit like cumin and turmeric. I’ve been running this place for a long time, and my hands are always a bit rough from handling the heavy bags. We have a lot of regulars who don’t even have to tell me what they want; I just start packing their usual order. It’s a lot of weighing and tying up plastic bags with string. The shop gets quite warm in the summer, and the fan on the ceiling squeaks a lot, but you stop noticing it after an hour. I usually have a glass of tea sitting on the counter, though it often goes cold before I can finish it. We keep the shop open seven days a week because people need milk and bread every day. It’s a lot of hours, and I’m usually pretty tired by the time I lock up at night. Ludhiana is a busy city, and we’re just a small part of it. We don't do any big advertising or anything. People just know we're here and they come in when they need something for their kitchen. It’s just us doing what we’ve always done. Some days are harder than others, but that is life.