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Here are my earliest and most cherished memories of paying for books, food and music in Madras in the 90’s and early aughts.
Landmark with its carefully curated shelves of comics and travelogues. Their music CD collection still makes me wish music CDs were a thing. The visceral process of discovering music through album art remains unmatched for me personally.
Dhaba express with its greasy dal and buttery naan at less than 100 bucks.
Eden with its familiar waiters, unchanged menu and food that is reliably homely.
Grand Sweets with its thick potato chips and free curd rice thickened with butter and tempered with mustard handed out in dried and folded leaves. It made my Sunday.
There was Moonwalk and Golden Video where I found movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind that would never have found a place in Madras’ theatres.
Then there’s Fruitshop whose now-bulging menu and over-wrought decor are a far cry from the simple and affordable glass of sweet lime juice in a simple setting.
Two of those businesses were killed by streaming. One changed hands and closed. I outgrew the dal. Eden and Grand Sweets (only the Adyar one) still rock. Fruitshop remains popular.
I am glad none of those businesses went into tech. Or scaled to their detriment. No financials to dissect. Just good food and experiences I gladly paid for. And the businesses survived and thrived because I paid for it.
They died heroes or lived long enough to remain unchanged and unscaled. And that’s the only thing I want for my gym.