Rainbow General Store

The shop is right on Pirwais Main Road in Patna City. If you know this area, you know how crowded it gets with all the carts and people. We have been here for a while now, right in the middle of all the noise. The shop is called Rainbow, though the paint outside has faded a bit over the years. Inside, it’s mostly just stacks of boxes and packets hanging from hooks. I sell everything from light bulbs to bags of rice. The morning starts with the milk delivery, which is always a bit chaotic. I spend the day handing out small items like candies to kids or loose sugar to the neighbors. Patna City is a place where everyone knows everyone, so there is a lot of talking. I don't have any employees, just me and occasionally my brother. The floor is old cement and it gets a bit muddy when the monsoon hits. I have a small stool behind the counter where I sit and watch the traffic go by. Sometimes the power goes out for hours and we just use a small torch to find things for the customers. It’s a simple business, nothing fancy about it. We just keep the things that people in this neighborhood use every day. Most people around here call me by my name rather than the shop's name. It's just a regular part of the street where people stop for a minute.