Rai Granites

If you know the Western Express Highway, you know how crazy the traffic gets right near Pathanwadi. We are right there in the main marble market, just across from the Sai Baba Mandir. It’s a busy spot. There’s always the sound of horns and trucks passing by. We spend a lot of our time out on the pavement or in the narrow aisles between the marble and granite slabs. It gets really dusty because of the road being so close, so we spend a lot of time splashing water on the stones to show people the real color. If we don’t, everything just looks gray from the dirt. It’s a bit of a squeeze getting the big lorries in and out of here, especially during peak hours when the highway is jammed. We’ve been here in Malad East for a long time. You get used to the noise after a while. Sometimes people stop by just because they saw us from their car while stuck in traffic. We have all sorts of stones leaning up against the walls. Some are from nearby, some come from far away. It’s hard work moving these things around, and we’re usually pretty tired by the time the sun goes down. The temple across the road is a good landmark for people trying to find us. It’s a simple setup, just us and a lot of heavy stone in the middle of a busy city. It is what it is.