Vinayaga Rice Store

Our shop sits at 71 and 72 on Sanjay Giri Main Road in Trighapadi. It’s a busy stretch of road, so there is always noise from the scooters and trucks passing by. Inside the store, it’s a bit quieter, mostly smelling like dry grain and jute bags. We spend most of our time moving sacks around and making sure the bins are full for anyone who stops in. We have different types of rice, some from nearby and some from further away. Customers usually know what they want, but sometimes they like to run their hands through the grains to check the quality. We use a simple scale that’s been with us for a long time. It’s accurate and it works, which is what matters. The front of the store is open to the street, so we get a lot of dust blowing in, but we try to keep things tidy enough. It is a family-run kind of thing, so there’s usually someone sitting on a stool near the back when it’s slow. We don't do much advertising. People just know where we are because we’ve been here on this road for quite a while. When the sun goes down, we start pulling the metal gates shut, which makes a loud clanging sound that echoes. It’s a predictable life, but we like the routine of it. We see the same faces every week and that feels good. It is just rice and honest dealings at Vinayaga Rice Store.