Pramod Steel Centre

If you head down to Nagarathpet and find Mm Lane, you’ll see Pramod Steel Centre at number 38. We’re right opposite the old Jataka stand. It’s a very tight street, and getting a truck in here is always a nightmare, but we’ve been doing it for years. This place is full of steel. Pipes, rods, sheets—you name it, it’s probably stacked up somewhere in the back. It’s noisy because of all the metal clanging and the traffic outside. There’s no air conditioning here, just a few ceiling fans that try their best. I’m usually covered in a bit of grit by the end of the day. We don’t have a fancy showroom. You just walk in, tell us what you need, and we see if we have it in stock. If we don’t, we figure out when it’s coming. It’s a very old-school way of doing business. My father and grandfather worked in these same lanes, and not much has changed in terms of how things move. We drink tea out of small glass cups and talk to the other shop owners while we wait for deliveries. It’s a tough environment, especially in the summer, but it’s honest work. We don’t use computers for everything; sometimes a pen and a notebook are still the fastest way to keep track of an order. It's just how we get through the day here.