J.J. Lal & Co.

J.J. Lal & Co. has been on Rasappa Chetty Street for a very long time. Our address is New No. 196, but some people still know it as Old No. 10. The street is always crowded with people and carts moving goods back and forth. It is one of those old parts of the city where everything is packed together. Our shop is narrow and the shelves go all the way up to the ceiling. We have to use a tall wooden ladder to reach the stuff at the top. We deal in various goods, whatever is in demand or what we have in stock. It’s a dusty place but we know exactly where everything is kept. We don't have a computer system to track things. We just remember or check the old ledgers. My grandfather used to sit in the same chair I use now. We don't see the point in changing things just for the sake of it. People come to us because they know we've been here forever. We don't do any marketing or sales pitches. We just tell people the price and they decide for themselves. It is a very direct way of doing business. The fans overhead hum all day long. We close up for lunch and then work until the sun goes down. It is a steady life on Rasappa Chetty Street. We are just part of the landscape here, like the old banyan tree at the corner. We keep it simple.