Shiv Shankar Rice Mills

Out on Mohanker Road in Ferozepur district things are usually pretty steady. Shiv Shankar Rice Mills is set back from the main road a bit. It’s a big open area with lots of space for the trucks to turn around without hitting anything. We have a few dogs that hang around the gate and sleep in the shade. The work here is mostly about timing. We have to get the rice processed before the next load shows up. Sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate and it gets too humid. That makes the machines act up and we have to spend hours cleaning the rollers. It's a messy job and nobody likes doing it but it has to be done to keep things moving. We have a small room where we keep our tools and spare parts. It is a bit disorganized but we usually find what we need eventually. The guys who work here live nearby so they walk or ride their bikes in every morning. We know each other's families and what's going on in the town. It’s not just a job it’s where we spend most of our daylight hours. The sun sets over the fields behind the mill and that's usually when we start winding down for the night. We lock up the gates and head home and then do it all over again. It’s just how things are on Mohanker Road.