Agarwal Banwari Lal

Agarwal Banwari Lal is situated right in the middle of Surajpole Anaj Mandi. If you know the grain market area, you know how busy and dusty it can get. We are right there where all the action happens. Every morning, the tractors and trucks start coming in with bags of grain, and that is when our day starts too. Our shop or office is a simple place with a front where we can see everything going on in the mandi. We have been in Surajpole for a long time, so we know most of the traders and farmers who come through. It’s a very traditional way of doing business. There is no air conditioning here, just a ceiling fan that works hard in the summer heat. We sit on floor mats or simple chairs and keep track of things in our ledgers. It is a loud place with people shouting prices and laborers carrying heavy loads, but that is just the way an anaj mandi works. We don't have a website or anything like that; we just rely on people knowing who we are and where to find us. My father and I, along with a couple of helpers, run the whole thing. It is honest work and it keeps us busy from sunrise until the market starts to quiet down in the evening. There is always tea being passed around and plenty of talk about the weather and the crops.