Sonali General Stores

I open the shutter around eight every morning here at Shop No 5 in the Adarsh Complex. It usually takes a few minutes to get the fans going and wipe the dust off the front counter. Being on Wadala Pathardi Road means there is a lot of noise from the vehicles passing by all day long. Across the road, people are always going in and out of Namco Bank, especially in the mornings. Some of them stop here for a cold drink or just some small things they forgot to buy earlier. Indira Nagar is a busy area so there is always someone walking past. We try to keep the basics like soap, flour, and biscuits on the shelves where they are easy to reach. Sometimes the delivery guys are late and we have to wait around, but that’s just how it goes. I spend a lot of time just reorganizing the packets of snacks or checking what needs to be ordered for the next week. It isn't a very large space, but we have been here for a while and know most of the people living in the nearby buildings. They come in to chat for a minute while I bag their items. The floor needs sweeping quite often because of the construction work down the street. It’s just me and the other helper usually. We don’t do anything fancy, just keep the shop running and make sure we have what people ask for when they drop by on their way home.