Aarti Steel Ltd, Ludhiana

Down in New Subhash Nagar in Ludhiana, the air always feels like it’s full of industry. Aarti Steel Ltd is located at H.No.8854 on Street Number 6, right in the heart of one of the busiest manufacturing hubs in Punjab. If you walk down our street, you’ll hear the sound of machines from every second building. Our place is no different. We have a lot of steel moving through here, and the floors are usually covered in a bit of oil and metal dust. Ludhiana gets incredibly cold in the winter, so we all wear heavy jackets and huddle around small heaters in the morning while we plan the day. In the summer, it’s the opposite—unbearable heat that makes the metal almost too hot to touch. We don’t have a fancy reception area; you just walk in and find someone at a desk near the front. There are piles of ledger books and spare parts scattered around. It’s a working man’s environment. We take our tea breaks seriously, usually standing out on the street for a few minutes to watch the traffic go by. The neighbors are all in the same boat, running small factories or workshops. It’s a gritty, hardworking neighborhood where nobody puts on airs. We just focus on the steel, the orders, and making sure the trucks are loaded before the day ends. It’s a solid, no-nonsense way to spend a workday.