Shree Laxmi Agarbatti Works

Our workspace is Shop No.27 in the Sainath Estate, right at the Memco Cross Road in Baliapatam. It’s a small shop but it’s always busy. The air here always smells like sandalwood or jasmine because of the incense we make. We spend hours rolling and drying the sticks. It’s quiet work, mostly done by hand. We have big trays where the sticks sit to dry out before we put them into the packets. The floor is usually covered in a fine powder from the ingredients we mix. We don’t use fancy machines for everything; a lot of it is just the way it’s been done for a long time. The estate is a bit noisy with other businesses around, but inside our shop, it feels different. We have a few stools where we sit and work, and a small radio that plays local stations in the background. People from the neighborhood come in to buy a few packs for their daily prayers. We know most of them by name. The light from the front door is usually enough to see by during the day. We keep the finished boxes stacked up near the back wall. It’s a simple life, making something that people use every day in their homes. We pack the boxes ourselves and make sure they are ready for the morning deliveries. It’s just how we do things here.