CHENNAI: If you pass by Pulla Avenue in Shenoy Nagar, chances are high that you might miss a hole-in-the-wall shop bearing signage that reads, ‘ADMS & Co’. The shop is well-known for its handmade rubber stamps and seals, for the past 35 years.
On a mundane Tuesday morning, we found Susila J diligently sitting in front of a small computer, engrossed in the rubber stamp-making process. She hardly has space to move around inside the crammed 10 sq ft shop.
The 50-something-year-old has been running the shop single-handedly after her father’s demise, six years back. “My father Dakshina Moorthy was juggling a grocery store, coffee powder shop and rubber stamp business. Earlier, he used to pedal around the city to get orders for rubber stamps. He opened a small shop around 30 years back here. He was a disciplined and hardworking man. I’ve been helping him at the shop since I was eight,” said Susila, who stays in Maduravoyal. She’s the bread-winner of the family. Her daughter has a PhD in Botany and her son has a Masters degree in Science.
Traditional rubber stamp with ink pads, self-ink rubber stamps, common seals and free-ink rubber stamps are made here. It takes 25 raw materials to make one stamp, and all materials are sourced based on demand from Parry’s Corner including things such as sticking solutions, gum and backsheet film. “Doctors, engineers and lawyers bring in signed handwritten letters stating the information that has to be lettered on the stamps since these are for important purposes. People come for endorsement stamps while opening an account at the nearby banks. Those days, customers used to drop by the shop and write down the information to be lettered on paper. Now, everything is done through e-mails and WhatsApp. We cross-check the information twice to ensure accuracy,” said Susila.
It takes a day to make a stamp. The cost varies based on the length. A stamp used to cost Rs 3 back then. Now it starts at Rs 110. “The demand is erratic. Patrons from all over the city come to us. I admire my father for his meticulous work. Always on his toes, he would never take a break from work. The stamps he used to manufacture is different from what is selling in the market now. Self-ink and pre-ink are the trend nowadays. I’ve learned to use the computer to make electronic stamps and rubber seals using Microsoft Word. This is my only job,” she said.
The shop is open from 9.30 am-6.30 pm and is located at 21/10, Pulla Avenue, Shenoy Nagar. For details, call: 6382194969