Bijay General Stores

Bisheshwarganj is one of those places in Varanasi that never seems to go quiet. At Bijay General Stores, the Main Road is always full of rickshaws and people carrying heavy loads. Our shop is right in the middle of all that dust and noise. We open up early to get the pulses and grains sorted before the crowd gets too thick. The walls inside are lined with jars of spices and bags of sugar. It’s a lot of physical work, lifting heavy containers and reaching for things on the top shelves using a small wooden ladder. Sometimes we get a bit tired by midday, especially when the Varanasi heat starts to settle in. We sit on a small stool behind the counter and wait for the next person to walk in. Most people who come here live just a few streets away, so we know their names and what they usually buy. We don’t have fancy signs or bright lights. It is just a place with bags of flour on the floor and bundles of incense on the counter. The air smells like a mix of dried chilies and laundry soap. We spend the evening checking the stock and sweeping the floor for the last time. It’s a long day, but it’s what we do here in 221001. Dealing with customers and suppliers in this heat takes a lot out of you, but we keep at it until the shutters go down.