Tejas Mirchi Kandap

You can find Tejas Mirchi Kandap at No. 4, Mama Chowk. We are very close to the Ganpati Temple in the Padampura area of Aurangabad. It’s a good spot because everyone knows the temple. Our main thing is grinding chilies, which is what 'kandap' is all about. Because of the chili dust, the air around our shop is usually quite spicy. If you walk past, you might start coughing if the wind is blowing the wrong way. We have the big traditional pounding machines that make a rhythmic thudding sound all day long. It's a noisy job but we like the sound of work getting done. We are just a small local shop, really. Most of our customers are from the neighborhood or nearby villages. We don't have a big corporate office. It's just the grinding area and a small counter where we sell the powder. We try to keep our machines in good shape so they don't break down when we are busy. Aurangabad gets very hot, so we start early in the morning to beat the heat. We don't have any big goals other than making sure the chili is ground well. It's simple, traditional work that has been done this way for years. We just keep the tradition going in our own small way. It’s dusty work but we are proud to serve the local people who come to us for their spices every month.