The Chennai Silks

If you’ve ever been to Usman Road in T. Nagar, you know how loud and crowded it gets. We are right in the middle of all that at No. 23. Every morning starts with opening up the big doors and getting the lights on. The shelves are packed with silk sarees and all kinds of cloth. It takes a while to keep everything organized because once people start coming in, things get messy fast. We spend a lot of time folding and refolding fabric. The air conditioning is usually running full blast to keep the heat out, but you can still feel the energy from the street outside. Our staff has been here for years, and we mostly just know where everything is without looking. It’s a lot of standing on your feet all day and talking to folks who come in looking for something specific for a wedding or a festival. Sometimes the shop feels small when it’s full of families, but we just keep moving. Lunch happens in shifts in the back room because there’s no way we can all leave at once. By the time we close up at night, the street is still humming, but we’re ready to head home. It’s just a regular day-to-day routine for us here in Chennai. We don't try to make it look like something it isn't, it's just a busy shop on a busy road.