Vaanga (please come), Vaanga!” an encouraging pedestrian hollers our car past thickets of shops selling rice, spices, plastic pots and freshly dressed chicken. This can’t be a two-way street, surely? Oh, but it is, as an auto-rickshaw adroitly demonstrates without a pause. We arrive at the imposing gate of the Farida Shoes’ guest house several near-scrapes and two testy turns later. A study in tranquil and immaculate luxury, global clients of Ambur’s biggest company retreat to its silky rooms and state-of-the-art gym after hectic parlays and rigorous inspections of big-ticket orders. It’s this easy dichotomy that defines Ambur (pronounced ‘aa-mb-oo-r’), a deceptively unremarkable town off the NH46, 188-km and four hours out of Chennai, often better known for its mutton biryani than the 31.54% annual growth rate attributed to its leather industry over the past decade.