Niraj General Stores

This shop is located on Ramakdora Road in the Piplani Katra area of Varanasi. It’s been here for quite some time now. Kabir Chaura is a busy place, and our street sees a lot of foot traffic throughout the day. I open up early because the workers in the area need their snacks and tobacco before they start. The shop itself is a bit cramped because we try to fit a lot of things in a small space. We have sacks of flour, rows of different detergents, and those small packets of shampoo that everyone buys. The shelves are made of old wood and they have seen better days, but they hold everything up just fine. On hot afternoons, the ceiling fan just pushes the warm air around, but we get used to it. People from the nearby houses come in for things they forgot to buy at the big market. It’s mostly just me here, though sometimes my nephew comes to sit for an hour. We don't have any big signs or bright lights. Just the basic stuff on the counter. The road outside is always noisy with rickshaws and bikes honking. Sometimes the cows block the entrance and we have to wait for them to move. It is just a normal general store serving the local folks around here. We keep track of what people want and try to get it from the wholesaler the next day when we can get a ride.