Vijay Lakshmi Transport Carrieres

We work out of 122 Masjid, which is a very old and very crowded part of the city. If you’ve been down here, you know the streets are narrow and the trucks are everywhere. It’s a constant battle with the traffic and the loading docks. Our day starts before the sun is even up, getting the carriers ready and checking the manifests. The office is right in the thick of it, with the sound of horns and shouting workers outside the window. We’ve got stacks of ledgers and a very old computer that sometimes takes its time. It’s a gritty place to work, full of dust and the smell of diesel. We don't have time for fancy talk; we just need to know what goes where and when. Sometimes a truck breaks down or a delivery gets delayed at the port, and we just have to deal with the fallout. It’s a lot of stress, but we’ve been doing this for a long time. We know the loaders and the other transport guys around Masjid quite well. We eat our meals quickly between phone calls. There isn't any polish here, just hard work and heavy loads. We keep our heads down and make sure the goods get moved. The space is small and the furniture is old, but it works for what we need to do. It's just the reality of the transport business in this neighborhood.