Jai Shankar Rice Mills

Jai Shankar Rice Mills is out here in V.P.O. Khadini. If you know the area, you probably know the BSNL telephone exchange and the big tower. We are right across from that. It’s a good landmark because otherwise, it might be a bit hard to explain exactly where we are to people coming from outside the village. The mill keeps us pretty busy most of the year. There is always noise from the machines and a lot of dust in the air, but that is just how it is with rice. We’ve got the gates open most of the day. The tower across the street is the main thing people look for. It’s a quiet enough spot otherwise, mostly just locals passing through. We’ve been at this location for a good stretch of time. We don’t really bother with much decoration or anything like that. The mill is functional and that's what matters. You can hear the hum of the telephone exchange equipment sometimes when the wind is right. We just focus on the grain and making sure everything is moving along. It’s a simple setup. Khadini is a small place, so word gets around. We just do our work and go home when the sun starts to go down. It's not a complicated life. Sometimes the rain slows things down, but we just wait it out and start back up the next morning. It takes effort but we stay at it.