Bala Engineering

Out here in Pondur Village, things are a bit quieter than in the big city. Bala Engineering is located right on the Chengalpet Main Road. Being in Sriperumbudur means we see a lot of trucks passing by all day long. Our workshop is at No. 1, and it’s basically a big shed where we do all our fabrication and repair work. It gets really hot in the afternoons under the metal roof, so we usually take a long break when the sun is at its highest. We work on various engineering tasks, mostly fixing things or building frames for local projects. It’s noisy and there are sparks flying from the welding torches quite often. We’ve been here for a while, and most people in the village know where to find us if something needs fixing. The floor is concrete and always has some oil stains that won't come out no matter how much we scrub. We don't have a computer for every person; we mostly use one old laptop for the billing and checking emails. It’s a very hands-on kind of life. Sometimes the rain hits the roof so hard we can't even hear ourselves talk. We just keep working through it. It’s honest labor and it keeps the lights on for us. We don't have a fancy sign, just the work we do every day for the people who come by.