A smooth transition. From generation to generation. This is what Meda Gopal Chetty Sons has gone through in the last 92 years.

Established by Meda Gopal Chetty in the year 1924, the shop first sold hand spun Khadi fabric and slowly mill oven Khadi. Availability of mill goods during the war gave them opportunity to sell gada and mull variety cloth manufactured by Radhakrishna Mills in Peelamedu and Dhanalakshmi Mills from Tirupur.

Slowly the shops started selling material from Lakshmi Mills, Devanagere Cotton Mills and from various mills from Ahmedabad, and those owned by the Tatas.

“My grandfather gave his life to establish this life. Me and my sons are giving our best to keep up the legacy established by him and by my father, Meda Venkatarangiah,” says Meda Balakrishnan.

They both supplied goods to more than 100 stores in and around Coimbatore – Kotagiri, Mettupalayam, Pollachi, Ooty, Coonoor. “Over a period of time we had to give up wholesale and stick on with retailing as many mills went down,” he adds.

Balakrishnan’s son Meda Gopal Junior and his son Meda Achyuthan are also into the family business apart from conducting music classes.

Currently the shop has specialised in dhotis for which there is a great demand from all over the district, especially from temples and mutts. A number of priests visit the shop to place orders for the deities.

“We are happy to be a major supplier of textiles to mutts and temples. Sri Kandasamy Swamigal of Kaumara Madalayam was our regular visitor. His successor, Sundara Swamigal and monks associated with the Kaumara Madalayam like Rangamuthu Swamigal too place orders with us,” he says with a satisfaction.