Gurudatta Provision Store

Gurudatta Provision Store is right on Manjari Road, at 159 E/1. It’s a typical local shop. We open early in the morning before most people are even awake to get the milk and bread ready for the early birds. The space is a bit cramped because we try to fit everything people might need—lentils, soaps, rice, and snacks. There are sacks of grain sitting on the floor near the entrance that we have to step around. We have been in Manjari for a long time, and we know most of the people who walk through the door by their first name. It’s not a supermarket where everything is under bright lights and plastic wrap. Here, things are a bit more lived-in. The wooden shelves are a little bowed from the weight of the heavy jars. Sometimes the cat from next door wanders in and we have to shoo it away from the bags. We write down credit in a thick diary for the regulars who pay at the end of the month. It gets busy in the evenings when everyone is coming home from work and realizes they forgot something for dinner. We don’t have a fancy billing system; just a simple calculator and a blue pen. Manjari Road can be quite dusty with all the construction going on lately, so we are constantly wiping down the glass counters. It’s a lot of standing on our feet and lifting heavy bags, but it’s just how the shop runs for the neighborhood.