Sri Sreenivasa Rice & General Stores

Sri Sreenivasa Rice & General Stores sits right on Rama Talkies Road in the Srinagar area of Visakhapatnam. Our address is Door No 48-6-20/1, and we are tucked away just behind the Rama Talkies cinema hall. Because we specialize in rice, the shop has a very specific smell of raw grains and jute bags. We have different varieties of rice stacked up in big open sacks so people can see what they are buying. It’s a lot of heavy lifting, moving those bags around and filling smaller packets for customers. We also keep a good stock of other general items, but the rice is really what keeps us busy. The street outside is always lively because of the cinema, especially when a new movie comes out. We see all kinds of people, from housewives doing their weekly shopping to workers stopping in for a quick snack. The shop isn't very large, so we have to use the height of the walls for shelving. We use a wooden ladder to reach the things kept high up. Most of the day is spent weighing out portions and chatting with people about which rice cooks the best for certain dishes. We don't bother with much decoration; the bags of grain and the shelves of goods are enough. It’s a steady kind of work, and we’ve been at it behind the theater for years now.