Fazal General Store

Down here at 13/456 in Rasoolpur, Kareli, we run Fazal General Store. Allahabad can get pretty crowded, and our little corner in Kareli is no different. The shop is tucked into the street, and we have a lot of stuff squeezed into the space we have. If you come inside, you'll see stacks of cooking oil tins and sacks of grains leaning against the walls. We have those glass jars on the front counter filled with different kinds of toffees and candies for the kids who stop by after school. It’s a bit of a climb for the older folks sometimes, but they still come by for their monthly supplies. We don't really do much in the way of decoration; the walls are just painted a light color and there are wooden racks everywhere. We spend most of our time organizing the inventory or talking to the delivery guys who bring the crates of milk and bread every morning. It can get a bit loud with the motorbikes passing by outside, but we are used to the noise. During the monsoon, we have to be careful about the dampness, so we keep everything off the floor on wooden pallets. It’s just an honest way to spend the day, serving the people in the neighborhood and making sure they have what they need for their kitchens. We don't have any fancy machines, just a simple weighing scale and ourselves.