Chennai, July 9: By 2.30 in the afternoon, the biryani is gone.
The large vessel that had been simmering since morning sits empty outside Sheik Mohideen's roadside eatery. Factory workers, office employees, truck drivers and delivery executives have already come and gone, leaving behind another successful day of business.
"There was a time when I wasn't sure I would sell everything," Mohideen says. "Sometimes the leftovers had to be thrown away. Today, most days the biryani is sold out by 2.30 pm."
A few streets away, mobile phone retailer Khader Hussein is helping a young engineer choose his next smartphone.
"Business has changed completely," he says. "Earlier, people bought only basic phones. Today they come back to ask about the latest smartphones and technology. Because of that, I've been able to educate my children and take care of my parents."
Neither Mohideen nor Hussein works inside a factory.
Yet both have built their livelihoods because of one.
Over the past two decades, Sriperumbudur has transformed from a quiet town on the outskirts of Chennai into one of India's leading electronics manufacturing hubs. Currently, around 1,500 manufacturing units are active in the area, according to TN government data.
Among the companies that helped shape this transformation, Samsung has been one of the region's earliest and largest investors. Its manufacturing facility established 20 years ago, together with a growing network of suppliers and allied industries, has generated opportunities that extend far beyond the factory floor.
Every day, thousands of employees travel to and from the industrial belt. Along the way, they eat at local restaurants, hire autos, shop at neighbourhood stores, rent homes and support hundreds of small businesses.
Murali has witnessed this change from behind the wheel of his auto-rickshaw.
"Earlier I drove a rented vehicle," he says. "Now I own my own auto. During factory shift changes there is always work. I earn between ₹2,500 and ₹3,000 on a good day."
Not far away, Ranjith, who moved from Kerala fifteen years ago, has watched his small tea stall evolve into a busy eatery.
"When I started, business was slow," he says. "As more industries came here, customers kept increasing. My income today is nearly four times what it used to be."
These stories are repeated across Sriperumbudur - in grocery stores, pharmacies, repair shops and rental homes that have grown alongside the region's industrial expansion.
The success of a manufacturing hub is often measured in investment, exports and production.
But in Sriperumbudur, another measure matters just as much: the lives transformed beyond the factory gates.
An empty biryani vessel. An auto driver who became an owner. A tea stall that became a thriving eatery.
Sometimes, the biggest impact of manufacturing is found not inside the factory, but in the community that grows around it.
