Standing the test of time

From jeans to spices, here are some heritage stores Bengalureans still turn to, decades after they were set up in the city. We take a trip down memory lane for some favourite shopping haunts
Standing the test of time

BENGALURU: Sivananda   General StoresYear of establishment: 1937 Where: Seshadripuram
This store is one of the oldest household stores in Bengaluru. Started in 1937 by B N Annayappa, then taken over by his son, B A Paramasivaiah, who ran it till 2010, the store is now run by the third generation head, BP Suresh. Hotels and restaurants turn to this store for their day-to-day essentials, including wheat flour, many of which are made at their in-house mill, Shivananda Flour Mill.

They make custom made (mixed) flours as per the customers requirement, and even have multi-grain flour for diabetic patients.  One of their most popular clients is Raj Bhavan to whom they supply groceries. Spices such as turmeric powder, chilli powder, sambar and rasam powder are a sell-out. Their celebrity clientele is the philanthropist from Dharmasthala, Veerendra Hegde, who has been their customer since the early ’60s.

Seetha Phone Company Year of establishment: 1924 Where: Avenue Road

This store on Avenue Road sells gramophone replicas, LPs and brass and bronze idols. Started by D N Seetha Ram Setty in 1924, Seetha Phone Company mainly sold hand winding gramophones and 78 rpm records. In the pre-Independence era, their products were imported from England and Germany and around Independence, the store got their products from Mumbai and Kolkata. In the ’60s and the ’70s, they had their own recording company and started selling electrical record players.

Unfortunately, by the ’90s, the sales for these products came to a standstill and hence, the store moved on to handicrafts. Setty ran the store until 1963, which was then taken over by his son DS Srinivasa Murthy, who personally looked into the repairing of the gramophones and other products until 2017. The store is now run by Murthy’s son, DS Venkatesh Babu.

C. Krishniah Chetty & Sons (ckc) Year of establishment: 1869 Where: Commercial Street, Malleswaram and Jayanagar

What began as a bead selling business to the British Army, turned into one of the oldest jewellery stores in the city. Cotha Krishniah Chetty started this jewellery venture in 1869 in what was the British Cantonment then. Business then grew exponentially and they were appointed as the official jewellers to the palace of Mysore by the King of Mysore himself.

They also sold and made gemstones, thrones, swords and other antiques to various other kingdoms across South India. With over 150 years of craftsmanship and talent, the store now has silverware, corporate giftware and gold, diamond and platinum jewellery. It is now run by the fifth and sixth generation owners of the store. “We carry practices and traditions that are passed down from generations and as business changes through time, some of our traditions remain the same and our customers value us for it,” says C Vinod Hayagriv, managing director of CKC.

Sivananda General Stores Year of establishment: 1937 Where: Seshadripuram

This store is one of the oldest household stores in Bengaluru. Started in 1937 by B N Annayappa, then taken over by his son, B A Paramasivaiah, who ran it till 2010, the store is now run by the third generation head, B P Suresh. Hotels and restaurants turn to this store for their day-to-day essentials, including wheat flour, many of which are made at their in-house mill, Shivananda Flour Mill.

They make custom made (mixed) flours as per the customers requirement, and even have multi-grain flour for diabetic patients. One of their most popular clients is Raj Bhavan to whom they supply groceries. Spices such as turmeric powder, chilli powder, sambar and rasam powder are a sell-out. Their celebrity clientele is the philanthropist from Dharmasthala, Veerendra Hegde, who has been their customer since the early ’60s.

Lalu Dass Shoes Year of establishment: 1965 Where: Brigade Road

If you want a unique pair of handmade leather shoes, this is definitely the store to go to. After you give your measurement, a mould is made and then the shoe is put together by hand. Lalu Dass P started making shoes in 1965 along with a Chinese shoemaker (Mr Wong) in Kolkata and Mumbai. After that, he decided to start shop in Bengaluru and rented out a space behind Catholic Club. Initially, he faced problems with acquiring material and labour but soon enough, business boomed with people forming queues for handmade shoes. His son, Sunil Lalu Dass, took over the business in 2014 after realising that the neither the software nor the hardware engineering field was his cup of tea. Today, he can proudly say that he has designed shoes for Sudeep Sanjeev, Darshan Thoogudeepa, Zoya Akhtar and Sandalwood celebrities as well.

Vashi’s House of Jeans Year of establishment: 1984 Where: Kamaraj Road

Think jeans, think Vashi’s. This store is easily one of Bengaluru’s most loved clothes store, especially among college-goers. In 1984, Vashi Lakhani opened the store on Commercial Street and ran it for 29 years. With retirement in mind, he shut down the store only to be bombarded with messages by his regular customers, requesting that the store be opened again.

Then, five years ago, Lakhani re-opened his store, this time on Kamaraj Road. He recalls a time in the ’80s when jeans weren’t even in fashion and jeans for women were almost unheard of. He started with just about 20 pairs of jeans and now, he has third-generation men and women as customers. Straight fits, boot cuts, loose fits, high waist, low waist, you name it, he has it. The price ranges between `1,300 and `2,900.

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