Panickanadarkudieruppu is a small village in the Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu. Like most small villages it is self sufficient in its own way. Today let us visit a shop that supplies most of the people with almost everything that they require for their day to day needs.

Mohan runs the village shop. He was working in a shop in Mumbai for Seventeen years before he got married. After marriage he decided to settle down in the village and run this shop. It’s the only shop of its kind in the village.

When Mohan goes out to buy products for the shop, his wife or his younger brother sits in the shop. He doesn’t employ servants.

Jaggery is the fastest selling item in this shop. When there is a festival in any of the village temples it sells as much as 20 kgs a day. On other days it sells 2 to 3 kilograms. Though the village is small there are more than ten temples here. So almost every month some festival or the other is always on. Sugar averages 5 kilograms a day. The sale of raw rice goes up during festive occasions.

The latest item here is jam. You get a packet for one rupee. There is sweet jam and sour jam. During school time more than 50 packets sell every day. Children eat it without bread.

Villagers interested in health food buy Bajra and Ragi powder here. The two rupees Clinic plus sachet is the most popular shampoo and for those interested in herbs there is Shikakai powder in one and two rupee packets. Hamam and Lux are used for bathing, Power and Rin soaps for washing. A few buy the small Vim soap for cleaning vessels.

If you have unexpected visitors at home there is no need to worry. There are biscuits, Chaklis (sweet and spicy), Chikki, Athirasam (a South Indian sweetmeat). Mohan says ‘ I sell 25 to 30 packets of Chakli every week and the 3/- rupees biscuits packet goes fast’.

Mohan makes more money on temple pooja products like turmeric, kumkum, incense sticks, camphor, coconuts, bananas and till oil than grocery.

City folks who come here for their holidays often ask him for different kinds of soaps, shaving creams and bigger size washing powder packets. ‘No! problem’ says Mohan, he buys it in the nearest bazaar and delivers it the same evening.

The shop also serves as a minor medical shop. For headache he gives you Saridon and Anacin. For fever Metacin and Novalgin. He has a tablet for stomach pain too. In Ayurveda there is the ‘Anjal Aluppu Marunthu’ which rejuvenates you from all pain and exhaustion. There is a more bitter medicine too that cures all fevers. Both these Ayurvedic medicines have to be boiled and eaten. There is also ‘Omam’ water that is a cure all for all stomach ailments.

For the smokers there is Sayeedu beedie, Gold filter, Gold Flake and Scissors. On normal days one packet of Wills Navy cut sells in one week and on festive occasion the same sells five packets a day. So normally Wills is not available here.

For cooking, palm oil sells the most. Followed by till oil, which is used to light lamps. Coconut oil sells the least. When a temple festival is on packaged Gold winner Sun flower oil is in demand.

Mohan normally has ten varieties of vegetables. He keeps one kilogram of each in stock every day. On Tuesday and Friday people do not eat Fish in the village so he increases the stock by 50% on those days.

In a week he sells 10 kilograms of Toor dal which is used for sambar and 30 kilograms of Udad dal which is used for making idlis and dosas.

There are only 5 families which buy on monthly credit from this shop. Almost everyone avails credit for one or two days when they need to. Mohan says that the villagers are very honest about clearing his bills. So he doesn’t have to buy on credit either.

He has a fridge in his shop which he keeps on for about three hours in a day. All cold drinks are manufactured and supplied from near by Kurumbur. Soda costs Rs.2.50/- and a cold drink costs Rs.3.50/- a bottle. When there is a temple festival on, he stocks Pepsi and also keeps his fridge on the whole day.

All stationery products are available as there is a school in the village. Ball point pens sell here for two to five rupees and the costliest fountain pen is available for twenty-two rupees.

Vijayan is the most popular coffee powder. Tea doesn’t sell much but it is available in one rupee and 50 grams packets. For spicing up your food he has the entire range of Shakti masala which includes Briyani masala, chicken masala, mutton masala and fish masala.

At festival times he stocks white and colour powder which is used for Rangoli patterns in front of homes and in front of temples.

In short Mohan supplies everything that the villagers need throughout the year and more when there are visitors or festivals.

The shop opens at 7 am in the morning and closes at 9 pm in the night. In the afternoon it remains closed from 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm. If anyone needs anything urgently Mohan is available at all times.