Pratik Engineering Works

We have been here at C-1/659 in Vitthal Udyognagar for quite a while now. Most people around Vallabh Vidyanagar know where we are because of the old blue gate. Inside Pratik Engineering Works, it stays pretty loud from morning until late evening. There is usually a layer of metal dust on the floor that we sweep up at the end of the shift. We have a few lathes and some drill presses that have seen better days but they still get the jobs done right. My father started things here and I just sort of took over when he got too old to stand on the concrete all day. We don't have a fancy office or a secretary to answer the phones. Usually, if the phone rings, one of the guys wipes his hands on a rag and picks it up. It gets really hot in the summer under the tin roof but we have a few big fans that keep the air moving a little bit. We mostly handle whatever walks through the door or what the neighbors in the industrial estate need help with. It is just basic engineering stuff, nothing too complicated. We drink a lot of tea from the stall down the road. Sometimes the power goes out in the afternoon and we all just sit outside for a bit until it comes back on. It is a simple way to make a living and we just keep at it every day.