Saran Masala

We are located right here in Bhagwan Bazar, just a short walk from the railway station in Chapra. If you stand on the Main Road, you can hear the trains coming and going all day long. It is a busy spot, always crowded with people rushing to catch their rides or carrying heavy bags from the market. Saran Masala is a small operation, really. Most of our time is spent sitting on the floor sorting through dried chilies and coriander seeds. My hands usually smell like cumin by the time I head home for dinner. We don’t have any fancy office or a big team with suits. It is just a couple of us working in the back room, making sure the grinding machine doesn’t get stuck again. The heat in the afternoon can be quite something, especially when the sun hits the front of the shop. We keep the shutters halfway down sometimes just to stay cool. People from the nearby villages often stop by after they get off the train. They look for the basic stuff they need for their kitchens. We spend a lot of time weighing out powders into small plastic bags and tying them with yellow thread. It is repetitive work, but it keeps us occupied. The floor is always a bit dusty from the flour and spices, no matter how much we sweep. That is just how life is here in the bazaar, and we are used to the noise and the mess.