Welcome Season Stores

Our shop is right across from the Police Chowk in the Main Bazar of Swaroopganj. It’s a good location because everyone knows where the police station is. The name of the shop is Welcome Season Stores because we try to change what we sell depending on the time of year. When the rains are coming, we fill the front with umbrellas and plastic sheets. When the festivals start, we bring out the lights and the decorations. It means the shop looks different every few months, which keeps things interesting for us. We see the policemen across the street every day, and sometimes they come over for a chat or to buy something they forgot for their homes. The Main Bazar is always crowded with cows, motorcycles, and people carrying big bundles on their heads. It can get very loud with all the shouting and the horns, but we are used to it by now. We have a heavy iron shutter that we pull down at night, and it makes a loud crashing sound that echoes through the street. Inside, the shelves are made of old wood that has darkened over the years. We don't have a lot of space to move around, but we know where the umbrellas are hidden in the winter and where the kites are kept in the summer. It’s a practical way to run a shop in a place like Swaroopganj.