Ma Vidyavasni Kirana Store

If you walk down Sharda Pd Road in Machuatoli, you'll find us here in Patna. It's a tight street, lots of people walking and cycles going past all day. The shop is tucked in between others. Inside, it smells like spices and old wood because we've got all the kirana items in open bags sometimes. We keep things like rice and pulses in the back and the smaller stuff upfront where we can see it. Machuatoli is a busy neighborhood, so there’s always someone popping their head in to ask for something small. Sometimes we have to move boxes around just to get to the counter. It’s not the biggest place, and the lighting could be better, but it works for what we do. We get the morning rush when everyone is getting ready for the day. Then it gets quiet in the afternoon when it’s hot, and we usually just sit near the fan. The walls are covered in calendars from previous years that we never took down. It’s a bit messy, to be honest, but that’s just how a real kirana store looks when you’re busy every day. We don't have any computer systems or anything like that. We just write things down or remember them. People in Patna know this area well, so we don’t need to explain where we are. We just stay open and wait for the regulars to show up. It's a lot of lifting and carrying, but it's okay.