Daawat Masala

We are over in Tollygunge, Ward No. 89, not too far from the RSV Hospital. It’s a busy part of the city, and our little place is right in the thick of it. We spend our days grinding and mixing masalas. The air inside is always spicy, which makes us sneeze if we aren't careful. We use old-style methods for a lot of it because that’s how we learned. It’s a small operation, just a handful of us working in the back room. We have some basic grinders that have been with us for a long time. They make a lot of noise, so we don't do much talking while they're on. We get our raw ingredients from the big markets and then spend the afternoon cleaning them. There’s a lot of picking through stones and stems before anything gets ground up. We don’t have a big storefront, just a place where we do the work and people can come by to pick up what they need. Tollygunge is a crowded area, so parking is always a struggle for our suppliers. We’ve been here for a while and the neighbors are used to the smell of roasting spices coming from our windows. It’s hard work, especially in the summer heat, but it’s what we do. We don't use any fancy packaging, just simple bags that keep the freshness in. It’s honest work and it keeps us going.