Sheikh General Store

Up here in Srinagar, the shop at Kohna Khan feels the change of the seasons more than most places. We are right at the Main Chowk in Dalgate, which is a busy area for both locals and people visiting the lake. When the winter hits, we have to keep the shop warm with a small heater, and the windows often get fogged up. We sell a lot of things that people need for the cold, like batteries, candles, and heavy packets of tea. The wooden shelves are old and have been repaired many times. I usually sit near the front with a warm cup of kahwa, watching the traffic go by in the chowk. The store has a high ceiling, and we hang things like bags of chips and plastic buckets from the rafters to save on space. Sometimes the snow piles up right against the door, and I have to shovel it away first thing in the morning. We know most of the families living in the lanes behind Dalgate, so we know who likes which brand of flour. It is a quiet kind of business most days, though it gets hectic when the tourist season is on. We don't have a computer, so everything is noted down in a thick register with a red cover. It is a simple way of living, and we are content with the way things are in our corner of the city.