One morning I looked at our neighborhood Telegram chat room and saw an invitation to a new store, or cafe, or cultural space - all at once, a little bit of everything - that had recently opened on Srednaya Podyatskaya Street. I didn't have any special plans for the day, so I decided to take advantage of the invitation.
To begin, I want to tell you a little about the origin of the name of this store. "Where's Grandma?" - is a reference to a great work of literature.
The most famous novel by the 19th century Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky is his novel "Crime and Punishment". The novel is about the difficult choice and mental torment of a young man, a student.
Student Rodion Raskolnikov is very poor, he struggles to earn the cheapest accommodation and a piece of bread, but he has many beautiful ideas that he dreams to realize. Raskolnikov considers himself a special man, capable of achieving great goals, making discoveries, and doing a lot of good, and only the lack of money prevents him. To get money, Raskolnikov kills an old woman, a cruel moneylender; he thinks that her life is not too important compared to his great goals. But having already committed this crime, Raskolnikov realizes that he cannot endure the torment of conscience.
The novel is set in nineteenth-century St. Petersburg. The heroes of the novel walk the same streets that the author of the novel, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, walked. The novel does not give the exact addresses, but the descriptions make it possible to guess in which houses the events unfold. In the house on Srednaya Podyatskaya Street lived an old woman moneylender. The name of the store is reminiscent of this literary character. "Where's Grandma?" - asks the signboard.
However, this is not the only association that arises when looking at the name of the store. The sign also contains a hint of a popular 1960s movie and other innuendos. The store is located in the basement floor and is divided into several areas: one room sells souvenirs and goods for creativity, another you can buy a cup of tea or lemonade, and the third holds various meetings and events.
Near the cash register you can buy a postcard with a picture of Fyodor Dostoyevsky on it and immediately send it to your friends.
On the day I visited the store, the third room was exchanging unwanted clothes and there was a "Box of Heroes" event. "Box of Heroes" is this box to collect toys and other small gifts for sick children. Children end up in hospitals and have to endure difficult, painful medical procedures. Children receive prizes from a special chest as a reward for showing patience and courage during an injection or dressing.
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| Smartphone | Google Pixel 3a |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
This is my entry for the #marketfriday challenge by 