R Balasundaram

I work out of a small place called R Balasundaram at 1176 in the Indira Nagar Shoes Market. If you’ve ever walked through the market, you know how it is—rows and rows of shops and everyone looking for something specific. Our spot is right there in the middle of all that. We have been dealing with shoes for a long time. It’s a tight space, filled mostly with boxes from the floor all the way up to the ceiling. Sometimes it feels like the boxes might tumble over, but we know where everything is. Indira Nagar is a popular area, so we get all sorts of people walking by. Some just want a quick repair, and others are looking for something new to wear. We aren't a big department store. It's just a local shop where we know our business. We spend a lot of time on our feet, ironically enough, helping people find the right fit or fixing a sole that's come loose. It gets dusty, and the noise from the market never really stops until late at night. We don't have a big marketing plan. Most people find us because they were already in the market or someone they know told them to come see us. It’s a simple life, really. We open up the shop, greet the neighbors, and handle the shoes. It’s what we do and we’ve been doing it for years.