Delhi Provision Stores

The shop sits on the corner of Khadki 46th Cross, right in the middle of 3rd Block. It’s number 41/2 and has been there since my father was a younger man. We mostly sell the usual things like bags of rice, lentils, and different kinds of soaps. The shelves are wooden and they creak a little when we put heavy jars on them. In the mornings, we spend time checking the stock and writing down what we need to get from the wholesale market. The 3rd Block is a busy place, so there are always people walking past the door. Some stop in for a packet of biscuits or just to ask about the price of onions today. We don’t have any fancy displays or bright lights, just the regular bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Sometimes the cat from next door comes in and sits on the sack of grain until we shoo it away. It gets quite warm in the afternoons, so we keep the big front door wide open to catch whatever breeze comes down the crossroad. If someone needs a large order, we usually help them carry the bags out to their scooter or cycle. It is a simple life running a provision store, and we know most of the families who live around here by their first names. We stay open until late evening because that is when most people realize they forgot to buy salt or oil for dinner.