Amit Store

Amit Store is located in Sunderpur, which is a busy little pocket of Varanasi. We have been sitting here on the same street for years, watching the neighborhood change slowly around us. It’s a small shop, and sometimes it feels a bit cramped when more than two people are inside at once. I usually have a radio playing in the background, mostly just for the noise while I work. We stock the basic things that families in Sunderpur need, like oil, flour, and tea. I don’t have any help, so I do everything myself from opening the shutters to locking up at night. The walls could use a fresh coat of paint, but they’ve been that color for a decade and nobody seems to mind. People stop in on their way back from work, usually looking tired and wanting to get home quickly. I try to be fast with the change so they don’t have to wait. There’s a certain rhythm to the day that I’ve grown to like. It isn't a place where people linger for hours, but it’s a steady part of the street. Sometimes the rain comes down so hard the street floods a little, and we have to move the bags off the floor. It’s just part of running a shop in this town. We just keep the doors open and see who comes in.