Kalpana Traders

Our place is in Banda, which is in Savantvadi taluka, way down in the Sindhudurg district. We are basically at the post office area, which is where everyone gathers. Banda is right on the border, so we see a lot of people passing through between Maharashtra and Goa. We are traders, so our day is spent buying and selling whatever the local market needs. Sometimes it’s building materials, sometimes it’s general supplies for the nearby villages. The shop is pretty old, with wooden counters and shelves that go all the way to the ceiling. It’s not a supermarket; you have to ask for what you want and we go get it from the back. We have a lot of regulars who come in just to talk about the local news or the price of cashews. The weather here is either very hot or very rainy, so the shop is our shelter. We don't have a website or anything like that. People just know we are here because we’ve been here for a generation. It’s a slow pace of life compared to the cities, but we stay busy enough. There is always a truck being unloaded or a customer waiting for their goods. We just keep the ledger books updated and make sure the stock is ready. It’s a simple business, run by people who live right here in the village.