In conversation with Lakshman Raja

From Apprentice to Owner

My name is Lakshman Raja, and I own Ganesh Medicals in Malleshwaram. The shop itself is thirty-three years old, but I've been working on this very road for forty-three years. I started working in another medical store in the same lane when I was young, spent ten years there learning the trade, and then this shop became mine. For forty-three years, I've been watching this neighborhood change and grow, one prescription at a time.

Ancient Malleshwaram, New Faces

Malleshwaram is almost the same—it's still ancient Malleshwaram. The buildings are coming and going, extra apartments are rising, and there are a lot of new shops, especially gold shops and hotels. But the people are the same, the spirit remains unchanged. What I notice most is that nowadays, new people are coming, especially North Indians. In all those new apartments, there are new faces. The language barrier isn't a problem—they speak English, and we can manage with Hindi. We know a little, and we can adjust and talk.

Earning Is Welcome

I think it's good, actually. It's a good sign. They come for earning, and earning is welcome. Our place is a good place for earning—it's the safest place. People like the weather, and the local people are so good that they can adjust to all these things. Malleshwaram is a very good place.

The Personal Touch Makes the Difference

Online ordering has affected us—almost 30% fewer customers now. Blinkit, Swiggy—even my own children order online because of the pickup service. But I'm not worried because our business is different. These online people charge 30% more than us, and nearby shops charge 20% extra. We get good business because we have a personal touch with people.

Not Doing This Only for Money

Even if someone asks for medicine at 10:30 when I'm going home, or ten minutes before I close the shop, I go and deliver it because we're not doing this only for money. We help people. We help older people. In Malleshwaram, there are a lot of older people whose children are all abroad. They're staying here and need help. I'm doing a service. If anybody asks, I can send medicine immediately to other old people. My staff will go and deliver. If customers aren't home when I'm leaving, I can deliver personally.

From Koramangala to Malleshwaram for Medicine

Just today, some customers told me an incredible story. They were at Indian Overseas Bank in Koramangala, sitting in the manager's cabin, when the manager suddenly wrote out a prescription and gave a check to his driver, saying, "Go to Ganesh Medicals, take medicine from Malleshwaram."

The customer, who was from Malleshwaram, asked the manager, "Why so far?" The manager replied, "No, no, no. For the past many years, we have been taking medicine from them. We don't have any problems. They give the correct medicine. If I give a prescription and some medicines are not available elsewhere, they are available there. Everything is available in one place, so we send it there."

That's the kind of priority people give to me, and it means everything.