Sai Nirmala General Store

Running Sai Nirmala General Store at the Collectrate Junction is a lot of work because the traffic never seems to stop. Being in Visakhapatnam, the air is always a bit salty and humid, so I spend a lot of time wiping down the glass counters so they don't look cloudy. Our shop is right on the Main Road, which means we get all kinds of people coming in. Some are going to the government offices and just want a pen or a notebook, while others live in the back streets and need their daily milk and bread. It is a small space, so we have to stack the soda crates high near the door. I have an old radio that stays on most of the day, mostly just for the news or some background noise. My brother and I manage the counter together. We don't have any big signs or advertisements outside. People just know we are here because we have been at this junction for years. Sometimes the street gets so crowded that the delivery trucks can't park, and we have to carry the sacks of rice from a block away. It makes for a long day. We don't use any fancy barcodes or scanners here. We just know the prices and tell the customers. It is a bit old-fashioned but it works for us and our neighbors.