Vijayraj Masale

Being over here at Building-3 in the RM Apartment complex means we are right in the middle of things. Vijayraj Masale isn't some big factory on the edge of town; we are tucked into this residential area where everyone knows each other. Usually, the morning starts with the sound of the grinders going. You can smell the coriander and turmeric from the hallway, which some neighbors like and others probably find a bit strong when the wind blows the wrong way. It’s a small space, really just a few rooms where we keep the bags and the machines. We spend a lot of time weighing things out on the old scale and making sure the packets are sealed right so the freshness stays in. It’s mostly just us working through the piles of whole spices we get delivered. Some days the lift in the apartment is broken, and then we have to carry the heavy sacks up the stairs, which is quite a workout for everyone. We don’t really do much advertising. People just find us by word of mouth or by following their nose when they walk past RM Apartment. It’s a lot of repetitive work, picking through stones and stems before anything gets crushed, but that is just how it is. We keep the fans running to stay cool while we pack everything up for the local shops that buy from us. It is a bit cramped, but we make it work.