Lucky Tobacco & General Stores

I have been running Lucky Tobacco & General Stores here at Shukrawar Peth for a long time. The shop is part of the Om Jagannath CHS Ltd building, number 672, right on the edge of SV Road. It is a tiny space, honestly, and every inch of the walls is covered with shelves. We sell a bit of everything, from cigarettes and lighters to soap and snacks. Because SV Road is so busy, there is a constant layer of city grime that settles on the front counter, so I am always wiping it off with a rag. The ceiling is low, and the fan does not do much more than move the hot air around. I spend most of my day sitting on a small wooden stool behind the counter. You get to know all the people who live in the building upstairs; they come down for bread or a pack of gum and stay to chat for a minute. The change drawer is always a mess of small coins and crumpled bills. It gets loud with the traffic outside, and sometimes you have to shout to be heard over the buses. We do not have a computer system or anything; I just write things down in a ledger when I need to remember an order. It is a simple life, just opening the shutters at eight and staying until the street quietens down at night. It is just a regular local shop for the neighborhood and anyone passing by.