Shree Hari Kirana Bhandar

Shree Hari Kirana Bhandar sits inside the Kothari Complex. We are right by Ganga Naka, which is a spot most people around here know well. If you are walking down Lohar Chakla Road, you can’t really miss the turn-off to get to us. The shop isn't massive or anything, but we’ve managed to cram a lot of stuff onto the wooden shelves over the years. Some days it feels like we are playing a game of Tetris just to fit the new bags of rice or pulses that come in. It gets pretty loud outside with the scooters and the people going about their business at the Naka. We don't have a big fancy entrance, just a regular door that we roll up every morning. Usually, one of us is sitting near the front with a newspaper until the first customer walks in. We know the regulars by their voices before they even reach the counter. It’s not a corporate place with uniforms or anything like that. Sometimes the floors need a good sweep twice a day because of the dust from the road, but we get to it when there is a lull in the crowd. People mostly come to us because we are right on their way home. We just keep the lights on and make sure the items people ask for are actually there on the shelf when they need them. It’s a basic way to make a living, and it works for us.