Thakur Kirana Store

Ranakpur Main Market is always a bit chaotic with the cows walking through and the motorcycles squeezing past. Thakur Kirana Store is right there in the thick of it. We spend most of the morning weighing out lentils and sugar into plastic bags for the local families. The smell of raw rice and dried chilies is everywhere here. It’s a bit of a dark shop because the building is old and doesn't have many windows to let the light in. We have some heavy sacks of grain leaning against the walls, and you have to be careful not to trip over them when you walk to the back. Sometimes a kid comes in with a few coins for a single piece of candy, and we have to dig through the jars to find the right one they want. It’s just how things go. We don't have a computer system, we still write everything down in the big red register books on the counter. My hands are usually a bit dusty from the flour by the time lunch rolls around. The ceiling fan wobbles a lot when it’s on the high setting. We see the same faces every week, people coming in for their monthly supplies. We keep some spare newspaper around to wrap up the smaller items if we run out of the little bags. It’s a plain way of living, but the market is our home and we just keep the shelves stocked as best as we can.