Sarita General Store

Operating a store in the middle of Abdul Gaffar Market means there is never really a quiet moment. We are right in Maccharhatta in Patna City, just across from Pawan Market. If you know this part of Patna, you know how packed the lanes get. Our shop, Sarita General Store, is tucked in there with everything from bags of rice to small hair clips. We try to keep a bit of everything because you never know what someone might ask for. One person wants a specific brand of tea, and the next needs a notebook for their kid. It is a lot of climbing up and down the small ladder to reach the top shelves. The walls are lined with all sorts of packets and tins. Sometimes the heat in the afternoon is quite a lot, so we keep the old table fan running at full speed. It’s a bit of a squeeze when the delivery guys bring in new crates of soda or sacks of flour. We’ve known the other shopkeepers around here for years, so we often share a cup of tea while waiting for customers. It’s an old-fashioned way of doing things, really. No fancy computers, just a notebook for accounts and a drawer for the cash. People stop by to vent about the traffic or the weather while we bag up their items. It is just how life goes in this part of the city. We close up when the market lights start to dim.