Rajhans & Co.

Sowcarpet is a crowded place, and we are right in the thick of it on Stretten Muthia Street. Rajhans & Co. has been at number 46 for years. The street is narrow, so it’s always a struggle with the two-wheelers and the people walking by. Our shop is small and filled to the ceiling with stock. There isn't much room to move around once the morning deliveries arrive. We don't have air conditioning, so we keep the fans going all day to stay cool. It’s a noisy neighborhood, but you get used to the sounds of the market after a while. Most of our customers are people who have been coming to us for a long time. We don’t do any big advertising or have a fancy website. It’s just us behind the counter, writing out bills and looking for items in the back. Sometimes it takes a minute to find exactly what someone needs because we have so much tucked away. We eat our lunch quickly between customers and stay open until late in the evening when the market finally starts to quiet down. It’s a traditional way of doing business, based on knowing people and having what they need in stock. We don’t try to be something we’re not. It’s just a regular shop in a busy part of Chennai, doing what we’ve always done. We just keep our doors open and keep the shelves full.