Madras Day 2026: alone with the timepieces at tiny Peer & Sons in Mylapore
Peer & Sons, a small watch repair shop in Mylapore, reflects the legacy of S.K. Peer and his son Shakil Ahmed. The shop serves as a cultural touchstone in Chennai, preserving traditional craftsmanship amidst a changing urban landscape.
Why it matters
It highlights the survival of traditional family-run businesses and the generational transition of artisanal skills.
On that part of Kutchery Road, where the Buckingham Canal flows sluggishly under a bridge, S. Shakil Ahmed operates from a shop smaller than a niche in a dovecote. The shop was once larger, recalls Shakil, but as the owner reclaimed a part of it for another enterprise, it shrunk to its present dimensions. But this small shop still catches the eye for its wall displays: clocks, either demode or delectably antique, depending on the eye beholding them. Another eye-catching feature is the enseigne above the entrance that announces the enterprise as Peer & Sons. When quizzed about the name and its homonymic alignment with the iconic P. Orr & Sons on Mount Road, Shakil sounds a tad amused as he offers a reply: obviously, when they see this shop, they know the two are galaxies apart.
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