Shivangi Kirana Store

If you go down the Bypass Road in Shivdaspur, you’ll find Shivangi Kirana Store. We are in the Katra area, right near the Shiv Temple. You can usually hear the temple bells from the shop. It’s a small place packed with all the stuff families need for their kitchens. We have pulses, rice, soaps, and those little packets of spices. I spend my days sitting behind the wooden counter. The Bypass Road gets a lot of trucks, so it’s always a bit noisy outside. People stop in on their way to the temple or while they are heading home from work. I know most of the customers by name. We chat about the weather or the price of onions. I keep a ledger for the regulars who pay at the end of the month. The store isn't very big, so things are stacked high on the shelves. Sometimes I have to use a stick to reach the top items. It’s a bit dusty because of the road, but I try to wipe things down when it’s slow. My son helps out in the evenings when the crowd picks up. We don't have fancy scanners or anything. I just weigh the goods on the old scale and do the math in my head or on a scrap of paper. It’s a simple way to live. We’ve been here in Katra for a long time. The rains make the road muddy, but people still come.