Associated Stone Industries (Kotah) Ltd., Ramganjmandi

Ramganjmandi is a place where you can’t really escape the dust from the stones, and that is exactly where we are based. Being in Kota, Rajasthan, means the summers are really something else, and our office at 324001 feels every bit of that heat. Associated Stone Industries (Kotah) Ltd. has been part of this landscape for a long time. You can hear the machines cutting through the heavy blocks from down the road. It’s heavy work, and nobody here wears a suit. We are mostly in dusty shirts, looking at slabs and making sure the trucks are loaded right before they head out to different parts of the country. The yard is huge and there are rows upon rows of Kotah stone waiting to be moved. We have a lot of people working here who have been in the stone business since they were kids. It’s not a quiet job. There is always the sound of grinding or the loaders moving around. Inside the office, the fans are always spinning fast but the stone floors stay relatively cool. We don't spend money on fancy brochures or big ads. People around here just know us because we’ve been at this address forever. It’s a practical life, centered around the earth and what we can pull out of it. Dealing with natural stone means every day is a bit different depending on what comes out of the ground. It is just hard work in the Rajasthan sun.