Krishna Modern Rice Mill

Down on West Street in Pudur, there is a lot of activity near our place. Krishna Modern Rice Mill is at 270K, and you can’t miss the tall chimney. Even though it says modern in the name, we still do things in a very hands-on way. Idappadi is a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business, so we have to be careful to do things right. The machines are heavy and take a lot of power to get started. We spend the first hour of every day just greasing the joints and checking the belts. The rice comes in from the local fields in big sacks. We have a system for cleaning it, but it still takes a lot of manual sorting to get the stones out. My cousins help me with the deliveries. We have an old truck that rattles a lot, but it gets the bags where they need to go. The street outside is narrow, so it gets crowded when the farmers bring their harvests. We try to keep things organized, but during the peak season, it’s a bit of a mess. There are always husks flying around in the air. We wear scarves over our faces to keep from breathing it in. It’s hard work and your back hurts at the end of the shift. But we've been here a long time and don't plan on going anywhere.