Sikchi Pulses

We’ve been here at Shivaji Square for a long time now. The building is old but it stays cool in the summer which helps when you are moving heavy bags of pulses around all day. Most mornings start with the trucks arriving early, usually before the sun is even fully up. We unload the sacks of lentils and peas right there on the pavement before dragging them inside. It gets quite dusty, so we spend a lot of time sweeping up. The traffic around the square is always loud, but you get used to it after a while. Sometimes the machines act up and we have to spend a few hours fixing a belt or cleaning out a hopper. It is just the way things go here, I guess. We don’t have fancy offices or anything like that. Just a few desks pushed into the corner and a lot of storage space for the stock. People from the neighborhood stop by to check prices or just to say hello while they are out doing their shopping. We usually have tea together in the afternoon when the sun is high and things slow down for a bit. It’s a busy life, mostly involving checking the quality of the grains and making sure everything is dry. We have had the same workers for years, and we all know where every single bag is supposed to go without having to look at a list anymore. It’s hard work, but it keeps us busy.