David Jesuthas Shop

David Jesuthas Shop is located on Chinna Kadai Street in Sholavandan. It is a very old part of Madurai and the streets are quite narrow. I open the shop early in the morning when the air is still a bit cool. Most of the people who come here are neighbors I’ve known for years. They come for the small things like matches, oil, or maybe a little bit of sugar. The shop isn't very large, so I have to stack the boxes pretty high up towards the ceiling. Sometimes I have to use a small wooden stool to reach the top. It’s a bit cluttered, but I know exactly where everything is hidden. The street outside can get quite noisy with the two-wheelers and people shouting to each other across the road. We don’t have a big sign or anything flashy. People just know the blue door and the way the counter is set up. I usually sit on a plastic chair near the entrance. Sometimes the power goes out in the afternoon and we just sit in the dark for a bit until it comes back. It’s just the way things go here. I don't try to change much. The jars are mostly glass and some are plastic, filled with different candies for the kids who come by after school. It’s a simple life running a shop in Sholavandan. We just keep going one day at a time. The fan makes a humming sound that I barely notice anymore. It is just home.