Jsw Steel Ltd, Bellary, Karnataka

This is a bit of a different situation because while the work is with Jsw Steel in Bellary, Karnataka, the home connection is all the way back in Patna, Bihar. I’m staying c/o Smt Mira Devi at the Central Ipm Center in Punaichak. It’s a long way from the steel plant to Patna, but that’s how it goes for many of us. We travel across the country to find good work. In Bellary, the environment is very industrial and hot, filled with the sounds of heavy machinery and the sight of massive furnaces. Then you think about home in Bihar, which is a completely different world. I spend my months working hard in the Karnataka heat, sending money back home whenever I can. It’s a sacrifice, being so far from family, but it’s what we do to provide. Life in the quarters in Bellary is focused entirely on the shift work. When I’m not at the plant, I’m usually resting or talking to the other guys who are also from out of state. We share stories about our hometowns while we eat our dinner. The distance is hard, especially when there’s news from home and you can’t just hop on a bus to get there. But the job at the steel plant is steady, and that’s what matters most right now. It’s a long-distance life, balanced between the steel of Bellary and the streets of Patna.