Ananya Bricks

We've been out here in Village Golabandha for a while now. It’s a quiet place in the Telkoi block, mostly trees and dirt roads until you get to our yard. The day starts early, usually before the sun is even fully up, because that’s when the air is coolest for moving bricks around. It gets pretty hot out here in the middle of the day. We spend most of our time checking the kilns and making sure the stacks are straight so they don't fall over. My hands are always covered in red dust, no matter how much I wash them. It’s just how it is when you work with earth and fire all day. Sometimes the trucks come in late and we have to stay until dark to get everything loaded up. We don't have a big office or anything fancy, just a small shed where we keep the books and sit down for tea when there’s a break. The neighbors know us well since we've been in this district for years. It’s hard work, especially when the rain starts and everything gets muddy, but we keep at it. People from around here come by when they are building a wall or a small house. We just show them what we have piled up. There isn't much more to it than that. Just moving heavy things from one spot to another and making sure the fire stays hot enough.