Ganapathi Fancy & General Stores

I open up the shutters every morning here in Chittinagar, right around D No 4-1-101. It’s usually already getting warm by eight in the morning. Ganapathi Fancy & General Stores isn't some fancy place despite the name. We just have shelves full of things people in Vijayawada need on a daily basis. I spend half my day rearranging plastic clips or looking for that one specific size of button a customer wants. The floor gets dusty because the road is always busy with traffic outside. I don't have a big staff, just me and occasionally my nephew helps out when he isn't at college. We keep things like ribbons, bindis, and regular household soaps. Sometimes the power goes out and we just sit there in the dark waiting for it to come back on. It’s a simple life. I know most of the people who walk through the door by their first names. They come in for a single pen or maybe some washing powder. The street noise is constant but you get used to it after a few years. We don't have a computer for billing, just a notepad and a pen that I keep behind my ear. Sometimes I forget where I put the keys to the glass cabinet. It's just a regular shop in a regular part of town. We keep things moving as much as we can. It’s been here a long time and the walls could probably use a new coat of paint soon.