Aadinath General Store

Starting early at Birsa Chowk is just how things go here in Ranchi. Aadinath General Store has been sitting on this corner for a while now. We mostly spend the morning lifting heavy sacks of flour and getting the packets of biscuits lined up. It gets really dusty outside with all the traffic passing through 834003, so wiping down the counters happens three or four times before noon. Most days, the same people from around the neighborhood stop in for their daily milk or a pack of tea. Sometimes we run out of things because the delivery truck got stuck in traffic, but we try to keep the staples like salt, sugar, and oil always on the shelf. It is a small space, so things get a bit cramped when three or four people are inside at once. My hands are usually a bit stained from marking prices or opening cardboard boxes. There is no air conditioning here, just an old ceiling fan that makes a clicking noise, but it works fine for us. We just focus on getting the orders right and making sure nobody waits too long while we look for change in the drawer. Dealing with the heat in the afternoon is probably the hardest part, but once the sun goes down, the breeze picks up near the chowk and things get a lot easier to manage. It is a simple life of manual work and small talk with neighbors.