Siva General Shop

Our shop is right on Tirupati Road in Kasipet. It’s easy to find if you’re driving past. We are at 86-9-42. It’s a general shop, which means we carry a little bit of everything. We have soft drinks in the cooler, bundles of bidis, matches, and some basic groceries. It’s a small space, so things are stacked pretty high on the shelves. We open the shutters early in the morning before the sun gets too hot. The road outside is always busy with trucks and buses going towards Tirupati, so it can be quite noisy and dusty. We have a small bench outside where some of the older men from the neighborhood sit and talk in the evenings. We don't have a computer or a fancy billing system; we just write things down in a notebook when someone buys on credit. We’ve been here for a long time, and the shop hasn't changed much over the years. The floor is concrete and a bit cracked, but it’s sturdy. We don't try to compete with the big stores in the town center. We just provide what the local people and the travelers need. It’s a one-man show most of the time, though my nephew helps out when I need to go to the wholesaler. It’s not a complicated business, just a regular general store serving the community on the side of a busy road. This is what Siva General Shop is all about.