Sureshkumar Rameshlal

Our place is Shop No. 45-46 inside the Marketing Yard in Chitra. If you have ever been to a mandi, you know how it is. It is chaotic from four in the morning. There are tractors, trucks, and people shouting everywhere. We sit in our small shop surrounded by ledgers and samples. Sureshkumar Rameshlal has been a name in this yard for years. We deal with whatever comes in for the season. My father started this and now we just keep it going. The floor is usually covered in bits of grain or husk. We do not have an air conditioner, just a big old ceiling fan that pushes the hot air around. We eat lunch sitting on wooden stools while talking to farmers and traders. It is not a clean office job. You get dirt under your fingernails and your clothes smell like the yard. We do not have a fancy logo or a marketing plan. We just know who to call and who to trust. Most of our business happens through word of mouth and old handshakes. The paperwork is mostly handwritten in big registers. By the time the sun sets, we are exhausted and the yard finally goes quiet. It is a tough way to make a living but it is what we know. We do not need anything more than this spot in the Chitra yard to get through the day.