Rahul Steel

If you’re looking for us, we’re at Shop No-11 in Loha Mandi. Being in the iron market means we’re surrounded by other people doing the exact same thing, so you have to know your stuff. We deal mostly in bulk steel, but we’ll sell smaller amounts if someone really needs it. The shop is basically a large shed with a small office tucked into the corner. It gets dusty very fast because of all the trucks moving through the mandi, but that’s just part of the environment. Rahul, that’s me, is usually the one you’ll see sitting behind the desk or helping the guys load up a trailer. We don’t go for anything fancy like air conditioning or nice carpets. It’s just metal, scales, and a lot of hard work. We start early, around seven, when the first deliveries arrive. The coffee man comes around twice a day, and that’s usually when we take a break. We’ve had some of the same workers for years, and we’re all used to the routine. There’s no corporate vibe here; we just talk plain and get the job done. Sometimes we get orders that are a bit of a headache, but we figure them out eventually. It’s a tough business, but there’s a certain rhythm to life in Loha Mandi that we’ve grown to appreciate over the years. We don't mind the noise and the dirt as long as the work keeps coming in.