Prabhakar General & Medical Store

Down in Maldahiya, right on the main road at Shop No.27, that’s where we are. Being in Netaji Market in Varanasi means it’s almost never quiet. We handle a bit of everything here, from basic general items to medicines. It’s a bit of a mix, but it works for the people living around here. When someone comes in with a prescription, I have to be careful and take my time to find exactly what’s written. Then the next person might just want a bar of soap or some batteries. It keeps the day interesting, jumping between different things. The store itself is packed with shelves from floor to ceiling. Sometimes I feel like I need a ladder just to reach the stuff at the top. The traffic on Maldahiya Road can be a nightmare, especially during festivals, and the dust always finds its way inside. I spend a lot of time wiping down the counters and the medicine bottles. It’s just me and a helper most days. We don’t have a big team or anything like that. It’s a local shop for local people. If we don’t have something, I usually tell them to come back tomorrow and I’ll try to get it from the distributor. We’ve been part of this market for a while and we know how things go around here. We try to stay open as late as we can because you never know when someone might need something urgently.