Venkateshwara General Stores

Kothapet is always crowded, and Brahmanna Vari Street is no different. Our shop at D.No: 9-3-110 is right in the middle of all that noise and movement. I’ve been coming here every morning for years now, usually arriving just as the sun starts to hit the tops of the buildings. Venkateshwara General Stores is packed with everything from huge sacks of rice to tiny little sewing needles. You have to step over a few crates just to get to the counter. The smell of the shop is a mix of dried chilies, soap, and old paper from the ledgers I use. I don't use a computer for anything; I like writing things down in my book with a blue pen. The customers are mostly people who have lived in Vijayawada their whole lives, so I know their faces and what they usually buy before they even ask. Sometimes I have to climb up the ladder to reach the top shelf for a specific brand of tea or coffee powder. It’s dusty work and my shirt gets dirty by lunchtime. The traffic outside is constant, with bikes and rickshaws squeezing through the narrow lane. I usually take a small break in the afternoon when it’s too hot for anyone to be out. Then, as it gets cooler, the rush starts again. It is a lot of work, but this shop is what I know, and Kothapet feels like home to me.