“Some men will wait until other customers have left before they will say anything. Some customers, though, hesitate to walk right in. “Newly married couples, especially from other parts of India, are surprised to find a store like this on the main street,” says Kerkar. The store is also popular with honeymooners - no surprise, since Goa state is one of India’s top destinations for newlyweds and domestic tourists. They can browse through the products at leisure, ask us questions, compare products - all without judgment or embarrassment.” “Condoms are available at all pharmacies and supermarkets, but the locals feel more comfortable walking in here. “Our store is not just for selling HLL products but also provides education and information,” says Kerkar. It is a quality that holds him in good stead with his customers, who often want advice more than products. Kerkar is an affable young man who immediately puts me at ease. “Our customers are college girls and boys, housewives, people above 50,” says Nitesh Kerkar, the manager of the showroom. There are no other customers, which brings me back to my first thought about the place: In a country like India, where sex is still a taboo topic, who would walk into a store like this? Feeling awkward, I push open the glass doors and step into the small, air-conditioned room. I walk toward it imagining the looks I’m getting from the men hanging out waiting for their bikes to be fixed. Buffered by a motorcycle repair shop on one side and a jeweler on the other, this brightly lit store with its distinctive logo - the shapely ‘o’s of Moods intertwined - seems incongruous. Thank you for your understanding.The Moods Planet condom store is set on one of Panaji’s busiest streets.
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