Karthikeyan Traders

Our shop is at 12-7 Ernakulam Road, which is part of the Perinthalmanna Taluk area. Being on the main road means we see a lot of people passing through. Most of the time, the noise from the traffic is just something we block out. Karthikeyan Traders is an older setup and the shelves are made of heavy wood that’s seen better days. We don't have a big marketing budget or any of that. We just open the shutters in the morning and see who comes in. Sometimes it’s very quiet and I just sit on the stool near the door watching the rain. Other times, three trucks show up at once and it’s absolute chaos for two hours. My shoes are usually covered in some kind of dust or mud from the road. We try to keep things organized but sometimes a box gets misplaced and we have to spend half the morning looking for it. That’s just part of the job. We know the other shopkeepers around here pretty well. We often trade change or borrow a tool when something breaks. It’s a simple setup. We don't try to be anything we aren't. We just provide what’s on the shelves and hope the electricity stays on so we can use the overhead fan. It’s a regular life on Ernakulam Road. Sometimes we have to stay late to finish the inventory but we don't mind the extra work.