Sriganapathi Store

T Nagar is always moving and being on Rameswaram Road means there is never a quiet moment. I open Sriganapathi Store early because people are already out and about by then. The noise from the main road drifts over here. It’s a small space, just enough to fit the essentials. I’ve got shelves reaching all the way to the top and I have to use a small stool to reach the higher stuff. My knees ache a bit when I do that too often. The floor is old tile and it’s got some cracks, but it’s been there forever. I usually have a radio playing low in the corner just for some company. Most people who come in live nearby and we know each other's names. We talk about the price of things going up or how crowded the trains are. Chennai summers make the shop feel like an oven sometimes. I keep a plastic jug of water under the counter. Sometimes a stray dog sits near the entrance for the shade and I don't mind. I spend my afternoons checking the stock and writing down what’s running low. It’s a lot of small tasks that fill up the day. By the time I lock the door at night, my back feels stiff. But then I do it all again the next morning. It’s a life. My wife sometimes brings me lunch in a small steel tiffin box around one o'clock.