My shop teems with children, when an advertisement for a new brand of chocolate or biscuit airs on television. Before I know, they inform me about the latest product in the market and urge me to stock it in the store. I buy a few of them, keep it in the stall for 10 days and see how the business fares. When there is enough demand, I stock more of it. Gone are those days, when people used to taste and buy a product. Now, advertisements call the shots. My store is inside an apartment. I do not feel I am doing business here. I feel I am part of a big family. Over the years, I have developed strong bonds with the residents of this place.I live in Ganapathy with my mother, wife and two daughters. Before a new product comes to my shop, I let my eight-year-old daughter taste it. Otherwise, won’t she feel bad when her friends in school ask her why she has not tasted what is in her father’s shop?
My day begins at nine in the morning and continues till nine at night. And, music keeps me going through out the day. My favourite radio station is Rainbow FM because they run a special programme, dedicated just to Ilaiyaraaja's songs.
I set up business here 20 years ago. Then, there was no proper store in Race Course and the residents had a tough time. So when I came, they saw it as a real blessing. I began with selling bread, butter and eggs. Slowly, I began to add more products depending on the residents’ feedback. Now there is hardly anything in my shop that a store outside does not have.
ADVERTISEMENT
Young working girls bank on my stall’s ready-to eat chappathis and puris, dosa batter, masala podis and instant noodles. Many work the night shifts and because my shop is shut when they return from work, they ask me to hand over the food to the security. Working as a provision shop owner for a residential apartment is both a blessing and a curse. The benefit is you can always rely on your customers and there will be steady business. But, one has to also go through the pain of separation. People, here, stay for a few years and leave soon. By then, I would have made friends with many of them and it hurts. I am particularly saddened when kids I have watched grow up tell you that they are leaving for higher studies. It is always painful to say goodbyes, isn’t it?