Lakshmi Rice Traders

Lakshmi Rice Traders is at No-7, Subbaraya Street in Triplicane. We are very close to the Union Bank, so people often use that as a landmark to find us. Subbaraya Street is quite narrow, and it can be a bit of a struggle when the trucks come to drop off the big bags of rice. We have different kinds of rice piled up in heaps and in sacks all around the shop. It’s a heavy job, and by the end of the day, my clothes are usually covered in a fine white dust. Triplicane is a very old part of the city, and you can feel that history in the buildings around here. Our shop has a high ceiling and thick walls, which keeps it a bit cooler than the street outside. I spend a lot of time talking to the regular customers who have been coming to us for years. We don't use any fancy machines, just a simple scale to measure out what people need. The floor is made of old stone that has been worn smooth by years of people walking on it. Sometimes it gets so crowded in here that people have to wait outside on the sidewalk. We just keep working through the bags until the sun goes down. It’s honest work and it keeps us tired but satisfied. There is always a lot of chatter on the street, and we are right in the middle of it.