Raju Departmental Store

Life in Village Channa Nathuwali is pretty quiet for the most part. Our shop, Raju Departmental Store, sits right here in the village, not too far from the post office. People in District Patiala know how it is in these rural areas; you mostly know everyone who walks through your door. We are located in Tehsil Nabha, so we get people coming in from the surrounding farms quite often. Running a departmental store in a village means you have to carry a bit of everything because the main town is a bit of a drive away. We keep our shelves filled with the basics that people need for their kitchens and homes. It is a lot of work to keep track of everything, and sometimes we forget to reorder something until it is already gone. We don't have a fancy computer system to track our stock, just a notebook and our own memories. The shop isn't very large, and it can get a bit dusty when the wind picks up outside, but we try to keep it as tidy as we can. We spend a lot of time sitting on the bench outside chatting with the neighbors when things are slow. It is a good life, even if it is a bit repetitive. We have been in Channa Nathuwali for a long time, and the store is just part of the furniture here now.