Laxmi Dhanaya Bhandar

Laxmi Dhanaya Bhandar is in Shivaji Nagar over in the Naupada area. We are near the Sine Honder building. This isn't an ice cream shop like some of the others; we deal mostly with grains and household supplies. The shop always smells like raw rice and pulses. It’s a dusty kind of job, moving heavy sacks around and weighing out what people need. I’ve been working here for a long time. The space is a bit cramped because we try to keep as much stock as possible for the neighborhood. Neighbors from Manpada and Shivaji Nagar come in for their monthly supplies. We know most of them by name. It’s a lot of lifting and bookkeeping. My hands are usually rough from handling the gunny bags. We don't have any fancy displays or anything. It’s just shelves and scales. Sometimes it gets quite busy in the mornings when everyone wants to get their shopping done before the heat kicks in. We just keep our heads down and serve the people who come to the counter. It’s a basic way to make a living and it’s what we know. The location is convenient for folks living around here so they don't have to go too far. We just stay open and keep the bins full. It's a lot of work but it's what we do to keep things going.