Chowdhry Store

If you are walking down Harmu Road in Ranchi, you might have seen us near the Ram Mandir. We sit right on Cart Sarai Road. It’s a busy corner, especially when there is a festival or a big crowd at the temple. The shop stays open pretty late most nights because people always realize they need something last minute. We’ve got shelves reaching all the way to the ceiling, filled with everything from notebooks to cooking oil. Sometimes it takes me a minute to find exactly what someone is looking for, especially if it's tucked away in the back. The floor is a bit worn down from all the feet walking in over the years. We get a lot of students and families who live in the nearby colonies. My brother and I take turns sitting at the front. We talk to the vegetable sellers outside and the rickshaw drivers while we wait for customers. It's dusty work sometimes, cleaning the jars and keeping the floor swept, but it keeps us busy. We don't have any fancy displays or anything like that. It is just a practical shop for practical things. Sometimes the electricity goes out for a bit, and we have to use the old torch, but that's just part of living and working here. We just focus on keeping the stock full so nobody has to go elsewhere for their daily needs. It's a simple life but it's ours and we are happy to be here on this road serving our friends.