Gurubasavaraj Rice

Our place is at 3-62 on Kalvi Thanda Road in Hampasagara. It is mostly a space for handling rice, so there is a fine white dust over almost every surface. You can smell the grain as soon as you get near the building. We spend a lot of our time moving heavy bags from the stacks to the trucks that pull up outside. The floor is hard concrete and my joints feel it at the end of a long shift. We have a small desk in the corner where we keep track of the bags coming in and going out, but most of the work happens on the floor. The big scale is right by the door so we can weigh everything quickly. It’s noisy when the machinery is running, so we have to shout a bit to hear each other. Sometimes a bag tears and we have to sweep up the spill before someone slips. The local farmers bring their loads in and we have to check the moisture and the quality before we can do anything with it. It’s a straightforward business with no frills. We don't spend money on advertising or fancy signs. People know where we are and what we do. By the time evening comes, we are usually covered in dust and ready to wash up. It’s hard work, but it’s what we’ve always done here in this part of town and we just stick to the routine.