Annai Aravindha Stores

We are right across from Raini Hospital on G A Road in Washermanpet. Being No 158 means we get a lot of foot traffic from people visiting the hospital or just walking through the neighborhood. The store is packed with stuff from floor to ceiling. Sometimes it’s hard to find things if you don’t know where they are, but we usually know exactly which shelf has what. It gets quite hot in the afternoons here, so we keep the fans running full blast. We open up early and stay open until fairly late in the evening. There is always someone coming in for something small, like a packet of biscuits or some soap. We talk to the regulars a lot. You get to know everyone's business after a while. The street outside is always noisy with buses and bikes honking. It’s just part of the background now. We don't have any fancy displays or anything. It's just a regular local shop where we try to keep the basics in stock. When the delivery trucks come, it’s a bit of a mess for an hour or so while we unload everything onto the pavement. We carry the crates inside ourselves and try to find space on the shelves. It’s a lot of manual work and standing on our feet all day. We just focus on keeping the inventory moving and helping the people who walk in the door. It’s a busy life but we are used to it by now.