Srinivasan Rice Store

Our little shop, Srinivasan Rice Store, is right on Ambalathadaiyar Madam Street. Being at number 126 puts us quite close to Lakshmi Jewellery, which is a big landmark around here. People often stop by after they finish their shopping there. The shop is filled with open sacks of rice, and you can see the different grains if you walk in. It's a bit cramped inside because we try to keep a lot of stock on hand. We spend a lot of time weighing out portions into smaller bags for customers. The street outside is usually full of people and bikes, so it can get pretty loud during the day. We don't have fancy lights or big displays. It’s just wooden shelves and some old scales we've used for years. Sometimes the delivery trucks have to park a bit further away because the road is narrow, and then we have to carry the heavy bags in by hand. That is a lot of heavy lifting, but it keeps us fit. We know most of the people who live nearby on Ambalathadaiyar Madam Street by their first names now. They come in for a few kilos of rice and stay to chat for a minute or two about the weather. It is just a normal local store doing what it does every day. We open up early, sweep the floor, and wait for the first customer to come through the door. It’s simple work.