Anand General Store

At Anand General Store, the days usually start with the loud sound of the metal shutters rolling up. Being located in Pune City, specifically in the 411002 area, means there is always some kind of noise happening outside. I have lived in Pune all my life and this shop has just become a part of the local landscape over the years. We have everything from lentils to lightbulbs crammed into this fairly small space. It is not organized like one of those big fancy supermarkets, but I know exactly where everything is hidden. If you need a specific kind of soap or a certain brand of tea, I can usually reach for it without even looking. My hands are always a bit dusty from handling the cardboard boxes and the bags of grain. I spend a lot of my time talking to the various delivery drivers who bring the crates of soda and drinking water. They always have some good stories about the traffic across the different parts of the city. The address is Pune City, Pune - 411002 and I have seen this neighborhood change quite a bit since I was a young man. New buildings go up and old shops close down, but we are still here behind the counter. I use a small plastic calculator for the bills but I still do most of the math in my head to keep my brain sharp. It is a quiet life, mostly. I like it when the rains come and the air cools down for a while.