Shivram Masala

Our shop is right on the Main Road in Buxi Bazar, Dhenkanal. We are very close to the Urdu Girls High School, so we hear the bell ring every day and see the students walking past. It’s a lively spot to be in. We deal with masalas, mostly grinding them up and packing them for people in town. The front of the shop is usually covered in a fine layer of spice dust. We try to keep it clean, but it’s a losing battle. The machine we use for grinding is loud and shakes the floor a bit. It’s been with us a long time. People come in from the main road to buy a few grams of this or that. We don’t have a fancy computer system; we mostly just write things down in a ledger. The heat in Dhenkanal can get pretty bad, so we have a couple of fans going all day. They don't do much, but it’s better than nothing. Sometimes we sit on the bench out front when there aren't many customers. It’s a good way to see what’s happening in Buxi Bazar. We’ve been part of this street for quite a while now. It’s a simple business. We get the raw spices, we grind them, and we sell them. There’s no need to make it more complicated than that. It is just the way we have always done things here.