Kamal Departmental Stores

If you are walking down Eldams Road in Teynampet, you will find us near the Balasubramaniyan Temple. Our shop is Kamal Departmental Stores, and we have been at this spot for a long time, though the numbers changed from Old No 133 to New No 86 a while back. It is a busy area, especially when there are festivals at the temple and the whole street gets crowded with people. We aren't a big supermarket chain with those shiny floors. Instead, we are a bit more packed in, with shelves reaching up to the ceiling. We try to keep a bit of everything, from cooking oils to cleaning supplies, because we know people don't want to walk too far in the Chennai heat. Sometimes the delivery guys arrive all at once and the place gets a bit messy with boxes, but we get it sorted eventually. We know most of the people who come in by their names, or at least we know what they usually buy. It is a simple way of living, just making sure the stock is fresh and the weight on the scale is right. You might see us sitting on a stool near the entrance when it is slow, just watching the bikes go by on Eldams Road. We don't use any fancy systems, just a notebook and a pen to keep track of things. It is just a local store for local people.