As Enterprises

Living in Manali is mostly about the heat and the trucks. My shop at 36 Nedunchezhiyan Salai is right in the middle of it. Chennai humidity is no joke especially in Chinna Chekade. I spend a lot of time wiping the counter because the dust from the road settles on everything so fast. It’s a lot of work just keeping things looking okay. The morning starts with a quick sweep of the front step. I don’t use a computer or anything, just a thick notebook for the daily stuff. Sometimes the power goes out and we just sit there in the dark waiting for it to come back. The neighbors stop by to complain about the traffic or the water. We handle different things here, mostly stuff people need for their daily work. It’s a bit messy in the back corner where I keep the bigger items. I should probably organize it better but there’s always something else to do. The tea boy comes around twice a day and that’s the highlight. We chat about nothing in particular. The ceiling fan makes a clicking sound that I’ve stopped noticing. It’s just how things are at the shop. People come, they ask for what they want, and I find it for them. It’s not complicated. When the sun goes down, the air gets a little cooler and I start thinking about heading home. The nearby workshop makes a lot of clanging noises throughout the afternoon but you get used to that too.