Lala Ram Chnder Lachman Dassa

Shahdara Chhota Bazar is a place where you really have to watch where you're walking. We are at number 231, and it’s been the family spot for ages. It’s a narrow building and we’ve got stuff stacked right up to the ceiling in some parts. It smells like spices and old wood inside. We spend a lot of time weighing things out and talking to the people who have been buying from us since my grandfather was running the place. It’s not a modern shop with air conditioning or anything like that. We have the big heavy ledgers and we still do a lot of things by hand because that’s just how we learned. The market outside is always a mess with rickshaws and people shouting, but once you step inside, it feels a bit slower. We lose track of time sometimes just chatting with the regulars about their families and how things have changed in Shahdara. It’s a lot of heavy lifting and moving bags around, which keeps us busy throughout the day. Sometimes the rain leaks in near the front door and we have to use buckets, but we get by. We aren't trying to be anything other than a local shop that sells honest goods. It’s a tough business sometimes with all the new supermarkets popping up, but our customers keep coming back to this little corner. We just keep the doors open and do our bit every single day until it is time to go home.