Shyam Timbers

Down here in Sai Nagar, we’ve got the timber yard set up. It’s right in the Allwyn Colony area of Kukatpally. The smell of fresh cut wood is the first thing you notice when you walk into the space. We spend most of our time moving logs and planks around. It gets pretty sweaty, especially in the summer months when the sun hits the yard directly and there's no breeze. We have different kinds of wood stacked up, some for construction and some for local furniture makers who stop by. It’s a lot of manual labor and our hands are always rough. The trucks come and go, bringing in new stock or taking away orders for different sites. We don't really have a fancy office, just a small desk where we keep the papers and a few old chairs. Sometimes the saws are very loud and you can’t hear yourself think, but that’s just part of the work day. We’ve known the neighbors for years and they often stop by to chat. The ground is always covered in sawdust no matter how much we sweep. It gets into your clothes and hair by the end of the shift. We just focus on getting the right cuts for whoever is buying that day. It’s a simple business. We don't do much advertising, people just know we're here. We try to keep the stacks neat so we can find what we need quickly. It’s honest work and it keeps us on our feet all day long.