Kalyani Dal Mill

If you come down Ambar Road toward Saptar Nagar, you’ll hear the mill before you see it. We’ve been here for a long time. The building is old but it works for what we need. Processing dal is a messy business with all the dust and the husks flying around. We spend most of our time maintaining the rollers and making sure the split is clean. It’s hard work and the air is always thick with that earthy smell of lentils. My father started this and now I’m the one looking after the daily stuff. We have a few steady workers who have been with us for years. They know the machines better than I do. We don't have a fancy storefront. It’s just the mill and the warehouse area where we stack the gunny bags. Sometimes the trucks block the narrow road in Saptar Nagar and the neighbors complain a bit, but we move them as fast as we can. It’s a busy neighborhood and we've grown used to the noise. We get our raw stock from the local markets and spend the day turning it into dal. Sometimes the rain makes the roof leak, so we have to move the bags around quickly to keep them dry. That's just how it goes in a place like this. We don't mind the hard work. It feels good to see the bags lined up ready for the market at the end of the week. We usually finish up late at night.