Vishwas Tea Company

Bhopalwadi is a busy spot and we have been at number 112 for a long time now. My day usually starts around nine when I lift the heavy metal shutter and let some air into the shop. Vishwas Tea Company isn't a fancy place with bright lights or anything. It's mostly just sacks of tea stacked up and a small wooden desk where I sit with my ledger. Sometimes the dust from the street gets in, so I spend the first ten minutes just wiping down the glass jars. People around here know us by name and they stop by not just for the tea but to complain about the heat or the rain. The tea comes in from the big estates and we spend our time weighing it out into smaller bags. It is repetitive work, honestly. My hands always smell like dried leaves by the afternoon. We don't have a big sign or anything flashy, just the name above the door that's peeling a little at the edges. Usually, the tea is just sitting there in the big gunny bags until someone needs a kilo or two. Sometimes the neighbors come in for a chat and stay too long, blocking the doorway. It gets crowded when the delivery truck arrives because 112 is a narrow spot. We just get on with things, making sure the tea stays dry when the roof leaks a bit during the monsoon. That's just how it is here.