Kalpana's Corner Store

My friend Kalpana rents a stall right next to the public parking area in Ganeshpuri. She sells chai, some fried snacks, bagged snacks, sodas (called cold beverages here in India) and so many other things. She invited me to come for some chai one morning, and I hung out there for awhile. I was impressed with the variety of items she and her husband sell. My behind the scenes perspective was a real eye opener! Their location, right next to the public parking, is a great spot to catch people coming and going. She was pretty busy in the time that I was there. Kalpana takes care of the stall from 10am-11am until her husband comes in. Then she goes home to take care of things there.

Chai making supplies include the tea and spice blend and sugar. She adds milk, and boils the mixture on her burner at the top of the picture. To cool of the hot tea, she pours it between the two silver pitchers with handles.

She sells lots of chips!

And other types of Indian snacks

She has a large biscuit selection (for dipping in your chai) and many beverages to choose from

If you don't want a whole bottle of soda (cold beverage), you can buy it by the cup.

She also sells cigarettes for 10 rupees each for the small ones, and 20 rupees each for the big ones. She's not a fan of them herself, but it is a commonly requested item.

Imagine if cigarettes in the states had this kind of graphic marketing on it...

She also sells toothbrushes - it feels like a convenience store

Kalpana makes a nice aloo bajji (fried potato cakes) that have a kick to them

She offered me a couple and I couldn't say no

The roll helps to tame the heat

Some of Kalpana's customers while I was there were students that were in Ganeshpuri for a week of camp. This day was their last day - they had been here doing social work.