J S Plntain Leaf Merchants

J S Plntain Leaf Merchants is located in Chamrajpet at the Bajoria Compound, number 41620. This business is all about the early hours. We are usually here when it is still dark, waiting for the trucks to come in from the farms with fresh plantain leaves. Handling leaves is a lot of work because they are so easy to tear. You have to be gentle with them but also move fast. We spend our mornings sorting them by size and quality. The floor of the shop is almost always covered in green bits and stems that we have to sweep up later. It is a damp and cool environment because we have to keep the leaves fresh for the buyers. We don't have any desks or chairs really; we mostly stand or sit on the crates. People from temples, hotels, and households come to us to buy in bulk or just a few leaves for a family meal. We don't use much technology here, just a simple weighing scale and a book to note down who owes what. The air smells like fresh rain and earth because of all the greenery. It is a traditional trade that hasn't changed much in the years we’ve been doing it. We just focus on getting the leaves out before the sun gets too hot and they start to wilt. It is a messy but decent way to live.