Balaji Spices

Our place is right off National Highway 8D on Vadal Road. If you are driving by Vadal, you might see us near the Yamuna Milk Process plant. Being so close to the highway means it is never really quiet. There is always the sound of big trucks roaring past. The smell around here is a mix of the dairy next door and the strong spices we are working with inside. It’s enough to make you sneeze if you aren't used to it. We spend most of our time cleaning the spices, grinding them, and then getting them into packets. It is dusty work, and we all wear aprons and hairnets to stay clean. The building is a simple structure with high ceilings to help with the heat. We have a small area in the front where we keep the records, but most of the action happens in the back. On Vadal Road, it’s mostly just us and the milk processing place, so we keep to ourselves for the most part. Sometimes the highway traffic gets backed up and it takes forever for our delivery van to get out of the gate. We just take it in stride. We don't have a big team, just a few local people who know how to handle the machinery. Every bag of spice is weighed by hand on a small scale. It is a slow process, but we don't like to rush it. We close up when the sun starts to set and the noise dies down.