Mahalakshmi Super Market

Down on Prakulam Road in Perinad, you’ll find Mahalakshmi Super Market. It’s number 65, right where the road starts to curve a bit. We open up pretty early in the morning when the air is still a little cool. The first thing we do is move the crates of milk and check on the bread delivery. It’s a local place, so we know most of the people who walk through the door by their first names. The shelves stay pretty packed with everything from rice to soap. Sometimes it feels like we’re constantly rearranging things to make more room. The floor gets a bit scuffed from all the feet coming in and out, but we try to keep it tidy. It can get really hectic on Saturday evenings when everyone is getting their stuff for the week. We’ve got a couple of fans going to keep the place from getting too stuffy. It isn't a giant warehouse, just a regular shop where we try to keep what people need in stock. My cousin helps out behind the counter mostly, and I handle the ordering and the heavier lifting. We spend a lot of time talking to the delivery drivers and making sure we didn't miss anything on the list. It’s a simple way to spend the day, really. We don’t have any fancy music playing or anything, just the sound of the fridge humming and people chatting while they pick out their vegetables.