Raushan General Store

The shop is tucked away in Gali No. 1 of Salimpur Ahra, right inside Nirmala Bhawan. If you know the Daldali area in Patna, you know how these lanes can get crowded. We’ve been here at Raushan General Store for a while now, just providing the basics that families around here need every day. It’s not a fancy place with bright lights or anything like that. We have sacks of flour, some lentils, and the usual snacks that kids like to buy after school. The space is a bit tight, so things are stacked pretty high on the wooden shelves. Sometimes it takes me a minute to find exactly what someone is looking for if it's hidden behind something else. Patna gets really humid, and inside the gali, there isn't much of a breeze, but we keep the door open. Most of our customers are from the houses right next to us. They send their kids over with a small note of things to buy. We know almost everyone by their name or which house they live in. It’s a quiet way to earn a living, just weighing things out and counting change. There is always someone coming in for a loose cigarette or a packet of spice. It is just a regular routine that starts when the sun comes up and ends late at night.