Perumal Stores

Perumal Stores has been sitting right here at 73, K.H Road for a good while. Ayanavaram is a busy place and being in Chennai means it is almost always warm inside the shop. We spend most of our time just making sure the bags of rice and the various packets are stacked where people can see them. It isn't a very large store, so we have to be careful about where we put things so nobody trips. The floor gets a bit dusty because of the traffic on K.H Road, but we sweep it out a couple of times a day when we get a break. Customers usually come in for their daily supplies or just to see what’s new on the shelves. My brother and I take turns sitting behind the counter. Sometimes the delivery trucks arrive late and we have to stay open a bit longer to get everything inside. It’s not a fancy job, but it’s what we do. We’ve seen the neighborhood change quite a bit over the years from this spot. Most of the people who live nearby know us by name, and we know what they usually want before they even ask for it. It’s just how things work in Ayanavaram. We don't use any fancy computers to track stuff, just a notebook and some patience. We stay open until late evening most days of the week.