Shyam Bhandar

Shyam Bhandar is located right on Argora Road, not too far from the main Argora Chowk here in Ranchi. I spend most of my day sitting here among the bags of rice and stacks of household items. It’s a bit cramped inside because we try to fit in as much as we can so nobody leaves empty-handed. My brother helps out when things get busy in the evenings. We see a lot of the same faces every week, people living in the apartments nearby or those walking back from the chowk. The shop stays quite cool even when it’s hot outside because of how the building is shaped. We don't really do much advertising or use any big signs. Most people just know where we are. Dealing with the wholesalers takes up a lot of time, checking the quality of the grains and making sure the prices are fair for the locals. Sometimes the electricity goes out and we have to use a torch to find the specific spices someone is looking for. It is just a normal, everyday business. There is always a lot of dust from the road that needs cleaning off the jars every morning. It can be tiring standing on your feet all day, but that is how it goes when you run a shop. We just keep going, day after day, keeping the shelves stocked and the floor swept as much as possible. I guess that is all there is to it.