Maurya Tiles

Our place is at Plot No. 575 in Shirvane. It’s a bit of an industrial-feeling area, and our plot is basically where all the action happens. Maurya Tiles is a local operation where we keep things simple. We have piles of tiles in various boxes stacked up high. One of the biggest challenges we face is just keeping things from breaking. Tiles are fragile, and if someone isn't careful with the forklift or when hand-loading a rickshaw, you lose stock. The yard is mostly open, so we are at the mercy of the weather. When it’s hot, the sun beats down on the concrete, and when it rains, we have to scramble to cover up the boxes with heavy plastic sheets. We spend a lot of time checking the batches to make sure the colors match up, because even a small difference can ruin a floor. It’s not the kind of work where you stay clean. By the end of the shift, there is usually tile dust on our clothes and boots. We get people from the neighborhood coming in with measurements scratched on pieces of paper. We do our best to find what they need in the stacks. It is hard work and requires a lot of patience, especially when a customer is undecided. There are no fancy lights or displays here, just rows and rows of ceramic and vitrified tiles waiting to be moved out to some construction site or another. It’s a bit loud but we like the work.