Patna General Stores

We are right near the Ravindra Narayan Petrol Pump on Ashok Rajpath. It’s a busy spot in Patna. You can hear the traffic all day long while we work. The shop has been here for years, just across from where the vehicles line up for gas. We sell a bit of everything, mostly stuff for the house. If someone needs a bucket or some tea leaves, they usually stop by. The floor is concrete and we sweep it twice a day but the dust from the road always finds its way in. It gets very hot in the summer, so we have a small fan that rattles. People stop in to chat more than to buy sometimes. We don’t mind. It’s just how the neighborhood is. We keep the shutters half down when it’s too sunny. The shelves are mostly full of things people use every day. We don’t have any big signs or bright lights. Just the name over the door. Sometimes the delivery guys are late because of the jams on the main road. We just wait. There’s no rush really. Most of our customers live in the back lanes of Mahendru. They come in for small things, a bit of oil or some sugar. It’s a routine. We open at nine and stay till the sun goes down and the street lights come on. It’s a basic shop for basic needs. We also have some plastic jars and local snacks that the kids like. It stays busy enough for us to keep going. We keep a box of loose change ready for the busy times.