Nellai Masala

We’ve been here at 50 Mettupalayam Road for a good while now. Jothipuram is a busy area, especially with all the traffic passing through towards the hills. Nellai Masala isn't some fancy high-tech factory. It's mostly just a few rooms filled with bags and machines that keep us busy from morning until the sun goes down. The smell of the spices is everywhere. It gets into your clothes and stays there. Even the neighbors say they can tell when we’re grinding chili. The shop front is simple. We have a small counter and some old wooden shelves. It’s not polished like those stores in the city malls. We don’t have a marketing team or someone to write fancy things about us. It’s just us doing the work. Sometimes the floor gets a bit messy when we’re moving things around. We clean it up, then start again the next day. The fan in the corner makes a bit of a rattling noise, but it keeps the air moving. People come in, ask for what they need, and we weigh it out. It’s a simple life. We know the regulars by name and they know we aren't going anywhere. It’s just a local business trying to do things the right way without making a big fuss about it. We stay busy, we keep the machines running, and that’s pretty much the whole story of this place. We don't have much time for decoration, so the walls are plain, but it works for us.