Punjab Rice Mill

Our place in Bhutal Kalan is pretty straightforward. We are just a local rice mill trying to stay on top of the work. The seasons dictate everything for us. When it’s harvest time, nobody gets much sleep. We are here late into the night, lights on, machines humming. The rest of the year is a bit slower, mostly maintenance and moving the stock we have left. We’ve got a small crew of guys from around the area. Some have been here ten years, others just started this month. We eat lunch together in the shade of the big neem tree out back when it's hot. It’s not a corporate setup. If something breaks, we fix it ourselves if we can. The floor is always covered in a bit of chaff, no matter how much we sweep. It’s just part of the environment. Sometimes a truck gets stuck in the mud if the rains were heavy, and we all have to go out and help push. It’s just what happens. We don’t have a lot of fancy words for what we do. We just process the rice and make sure it’s ready for the market. It’s steady, honest work and that’s plenty for us. There is always more grain to move tomorrow, so we try not to stress too much about it today.