M/S. Gupta Coalfields & Washeries Ltd., Nagpur.

Our place is over on Mul Road in Arvind Nagar, right here in Chandrapur. If you know anything about this part of Maharashtra, you know it’s big coal country. We’re M/S. Gupta Coalfields & Washeries Ltd., and we’ve been working in this heat for a long time. The coal dust is everywhere—it’s in the air and on our clothes by the end of the shift. We spend a lot of time dealing with the washing process, trying to get the coal ready for the plants. It’s a heavy, industrial kind of job. The office isn't much to look at. We’ve got old metal cupboards full of files and a few ceiling fans that never seem to go fast enough in the summer. We talk to the workers, check the machinery, and handle the local transport of the coal loads. It’s loud and it’s messy, but it’s the heart of what happens in Chandrapur. We don’t have any polished speeches about what we do. It’s just about getting the coal moved and making sure the washery keeps running without too many breakdowns. Some days are harder than others, especially when the machinery acts up. We just put on our boots and get to it. It’s not a job for everyone, but it’s what we’ve always done. We just keep our heads down and stay focused on the day's work ahead of us. The sun is intense here, but we are used to it by now.