Lalithadevi Modern Rice Mill

Lalithadevi Modern Rice Mill is sitting out on Nedungulam Main Road. We are at Plot No.94/3 in the Chintamani area. It’s a big, open space because we need the room for the heavy machinery and the sacks of grain. When the mill is running, it gets very loud, so we usually have to shout to hear each other over the sound of the husking machines. There is always a fine layer of rice dust on everything, no matter how much we sweep. That’s just the nature of the business. The smell of raw rice is something you get used to after about a day of working here. We have trucks coming in from the fields to drop off the paddy, and then we process it and bag it up. The yard can get pretty crowded with vehicles during the peak season. Chintamani is a good location for us because the main road makes it easy for the transport lorries to reach us without getting stuck in small lanes. The office is just a small room off to the side of the main processing floor where we keep the ledger books. It’s a very practical environment. We don’t have air conditioning or anything like that; we just leave the big doors open for the breeze. It’s hard work and the days are long, especially when we have a big order to finish. We just focus on keeping the machines running and the rice moving out the door.