Shakti General Store

If you walk down toward the Lakshminarayan Temple in Hatnala Bazar, you’ll find us easily enough. Shakti General Store is tucked in among the other shops, and it’s usually pretty crowded in the mornings when people are out for their prayers. We sell a bit of everything, from soap and toothpaste to school supplies and small gift items. The walls are painted a dull yellow that’s started to peel in the corners. I’ve lived around here my whole life, so I know most of the neighbors by their first names. We don’t have a computer for bills or anything; I just write everything down in a big ledger book like my father did. The shelves are made of old wood that’s gone a bit dark over the years. Sometimes the cat from next door comes in and sleeps on the sack of rice near the back. I don’t mind it much. The street outside is narrow, so it’s always loud with scooters and people shouting to each other. It gets very hot in the summer months, and the small table fan on my desk barely does much. We keep the basics because that’s what people need. There’s no point in stocking fancy things that nobody in the bazaar is going to buy. It’s a plain, honest shop that stays open late most nights just in case someone forgot to buy milk or a pen for their kid’s homework.