Bairagi Rice Mill

The mill is situated in Hatapada, right at Turunjiaguda. Being near the bus stand means we have a lot of movement around us all the time. You can always smell the rice being processed when you get close to our gates. It’s a thick, earthy scent that stays on your clothes. We spend most of our time dealing with the machinery and making sure the grain is moving through correctly. Farmers bring their loads in on carts or small trucks, and we have to get everything weighed and sorted. The noise inside is pretty constant when the engines are running. We have a small crew of people who have been with us for years. We aren't a big fancy operation; just a local mill doing what needs to be done. In the evenings, when the buses stop running so often, it gets a bit quieter. We spend that time cleaning up the husks and checking the equipment for the next day. Sometimes the power goes out, and we just sit outside the mill and wait for it to come back. Hatapada is a small place where everyone knows what we do. We don't need to explain much. We just process the rice and keep the place running as long as there is work to do. It’s a routine we’ve followed for a long time now. The seasons dictate how busy we are; harvest time is always a mess of long hours and no sleep. It’s just how life goes in Turunjiaguda.