Sofi Provisinal Store

Living in Srinagar is different because of the weather. Our shop, Sofi Provisinal Store, is in Gojwara and it has been here for a long time. When it gets very cold in the winter, the shop becomes a place where people stop for a minute just to get out of the wind while they buy their groceries. We sell the usual things like tea leaves, salt, and different kinds of flour. In Gojwara, everyone knows everyone else, so it is more like a meeting place than just a shop. I grew up around here and I know all the families on this street. We do not have fancy displays or glass windows everywhere. It is just a sturdy old shop with wooden shelves. We get our supplies from the main market and bring them here in a small truck. Sometimes the roads are blocked when it snows, so we have to make sure we have enough stock stored up in the back. We keep things like kerosene and candles too, because you never know when you might need them. My father started this place and I am just keeping it going the same way he did. It is not a big fancy life but we are happy serving our neighbors. We open early in the morning because that is when the fresh bread arrives and everyone wants some for breakfast.