New Star Maligai

Melur is a busy place, especially being on the Main Road here in Madurai. New Star Maligai has been standing here for quite a while now. Most days it’s just me or one of the boys standing behind the counter, waiting for the next person to come in for their monthly groceries. We have these big sacks of grains and pulses lined up against the wall, and the smell of spices is always in the air. It’s loud outside because of the buses and lorries passing through to the city, but inside it stays a bit cooler. I usually spend my afternoons checking the stock of tamarind and chilies. Sometimes the delivery trucks are late because of the traffic on the road, so we have to manage with what we have on the shelves. People from the nearby streets walk over when they run out of salt or sugar. It’s not a very big shop, so we have to stack the crates high to make room for everything. The floor is concrete and a bit worn down from years of feet walking in and out. There’s a small calendar on the wall that I forget to flip sometimes. We don't have any fancy displays or neon signs. It’s just a regular maligai store where you get your basic kitchen needs and maybe a piece of candy for the little ones. We keep the doors open from early morning until late evening, just taking care of what comes our way.