Sree Balagi Mashroom

Being out here near Hosur is good for the mushrooms. The weather is a bit cooler than being right in the middle of Bengaluru, which helps a lot. We spend most of our time in the dark, really. Mushrooms don't like too much light, so the sheds are kept dim and damp. It’s a specific kind of smell, earthy and wet, that stays on your clothes long after you leave. We wake up very early, usually before the sun is even up, to check the beds. It’s a lot of physical labor, moving bags and keeping the humidity just right. Some days are harder than others if the temperature spikes. We aren't a big factory or anything like that. It’s just a local operation where we keep an eye on everything ourselves. The drive into the city can be a pain with the traffic, so we try to get our deliveries out before the rush starts. We’ve got some regular spots where we drop off the crates. Most people don't realize how much work goes into a simple mushroom. You have to be patient and wait for them to pop up. We don't have any fancy marketing people. We just grow what we grow and hope the weather stays on our side. It’s a quiet life for the most part, away from the noise of the main city streets. We just keep our heads down and work while the rest of the world is sleeping.