Anant Masale

Anant Masale is based in Deena Village, which is situated in the Panagar Tehsil area of Jabalpur. We are located right on the Panagar Main Road, so there is a constant stream of trucks and tractors passing by our front door. The road brings a lot of dust, but it also makes it easy for us to get our supplies. Working with masale in this part of Madhya Pradesh is hard work because of the heat. We spend our mornings sorting through raw spices, cleaning them out, and getting them ready for the machines. It is a very hands-on process. We don't use any big fancy automation; it’s mostly just us watching the machines and making sure the texture is right. The shop isn't much to look at from the outside, just a plain building with our name on it. Inside, it's usually quite warm and smells strongly of whatever we are grinding that day. Sometimes it's black pepper, other times it's garam masala. We have a small crew of people from around the village who help out. We don't have a big mission or anything; we just want to get the work done and go home to our families. The Main Road can get very noisy, but we’ve grown used to it over the years. It’s just our little spot in Deena where we keep the tradition of spice grinding going every day. We just stay busy.