Mahalaxmi Rice & General Mills

We’ve been running Mahalaxmi Rice & General Mills on Sultanpur Road for a long time now. It’s a family thing, mostly. My uncle started it and now we just keep the wheels turning. We do rice, but since we are a general mill, we end up doing a bit of everything else too if someone needs it. The morning starts with checking the moisture in the grain. If it’s too damp, we have to wait, and that’s just how it goes. You can’t rush nature. The machinery is old but it’s reliable if you treat it right. We have a few guys who live nearby and help out. We don’t have a big human resources department or anything like that. We just talk over tea and get to work. The Sultanpur Road gets busy with tractors and carts during the peak season. It’s a lot of shouting and dust and heavy lifting. Your hands get calloused and your boots are always white with dust. We don’t put on airs. It’s a mill, not a showroom. We just make sure the bags are weighted correctly and stacked high. It’s a living that pays the bills and keeps us connected to the land around us. Some days are harder than others but we wouldn't know what else to do with our time anyway, so we just keep at it.