Stone & Slates

Out here on Dhone Road in Betamcherla, we deal with stones and slates all day. Our spot is at Survey No.585-2, and it’s basically a big yard filled with rocks and slabs. This area is known for its stone, so there are many others like us, but we just focus on our own work. It’s a rough environment, very dusty and the sun can be really harsh. We spend our time splitting slates and loading them onto trucks. My hands are always calloused from the stone, and the noise of the cutters is something you never quite get used to. We don’t have a fancy office, just a small shed where we keep the records and sit for tea. Most of the people working here are locals from around Betamcherla. We take the raw stone and turn it into something people can use for their floors or walls. It’s hard, physical labor, and there are no shortcuts. Sometimes the stone doesn’t break the way you want it to, and you lose a bit of material, but that’s part of the trade. We just sell what we produce to the builders and contractors who come by. It’s a simple life, focused on the earth and what we can pull out of it. We don’t use big words to describe what we do. We just work with stone, and we’ve been doing it this way for years.