Long-time Fort residents and keepers of the corner store
- Shafeek Kade, 100 Pedlar Street
The Fort is a very peaceful place. In the 64 years I’ve lived here, there hasn’t been trouble between people; we may believe in different religions but we are all very close.
One stop shop
We are open from 6am-8.30pm 363 days of the year; we only close for the last day of Ramadan and Haj. Our day begins at 5am when we light incense to cleanse the shop. Soon after this fresh bread is delivered. In the morning our main trade is in newspapers and the sweet-smelling white loaves. These days we sell a lot of snacks and cool drinks to tourists including cashew nuts, chocolate and Coca Cola. Up until ten years ago we had supplies delivered by a lovely man called Vathiar who transported sacks of rice and lentils on his bullock cart.
Community hub
Having lived here all my life and meeting people at the shop, I know everybody in the Fort. This means that my job as senior polling agent during elections is easy because I can quickly verify everyone’s names and addresses at the polling booth.
A unique place
We enjoy chatting to regulars and meeting visitors – it’s one of our favourite parts of the job and makes us happy. The business has expanded a lot since my father first started a fruit shop on this spot in the 1940s. We couldn’t live outside the Fort. I was born here. All the people are with us. We couldn’t find another place like this in Sri Lanka.