Sri Meena Textiles

Manikandan Street is always crowded, and our shop is right in the middle of it on the 6th Lane of Old Washermenpet. It is one of those old parts of town where the lanes are narrow and you have to watch your step. We have been selling textiles here for a long time. The shop is packed from floor to ceiling with different types of cloth. We have cottons, synthetics, and sometimes some fancier materials if we can get them. There isn't much space to move around when there are more than three customers inside. We spend the day unrolling fabric for people to feel the texture and then folding it all back up again. It’s a lot of repetitive work, but you get to talk to all kinds of people. Some are looking for something cheap for daily wear, and others want something specific for a family function. We don't have air conditioning, just a couple of old ceiling fans that do their best to keep the heat away. The street outside is always full of carts and people shouting, so it’s never quiet. We just keep our heads down and serve whoever walks through the door. It is a simple life, mostly built around the rhythms of the market and the festival seasons when everyone wants new clothes for their families.