R B Shah

This shop is right in the middle of New Bazar in Khadki 22. It is a very old neighborhood, and we have been in this spot for a long time. R B Shah is the name on the board, but most people around here just know us by sight. The shelves go all the way up to the ceiling, so we have to use a wooden ladder to reach the stuff at the top. We sell a bit of everything that a household might need. Every morning starts with sweeping the front step because the bazar gets very dusty with all the carts going by. The bags of grains and pulses are heavy, and moving them around is a good workout. I spend a lot of my day weighing out things on the scales and tying up small plastic bags. Customers come in and talk about their families while I find what they need. It’s a narrow shop, so if three people are inside at once, it feels very crowded. We keep the accounts in a thick red book with a pen tied to it. The light inside isn’t very bright, but we know where every single item is kept. When the sun goes down, the bazar gets even busier with people buying things for dinner. We usually close up once the street starts to quiet down. It’s a simple life behind the counter here.