Chaska Masala

We’ve been here at Chaska Masala in Pachora for a good while now. Our spot is right near the railway station, so there is always noise and people running around to catch their trains. It gets pretty dusty out there on the street but inside here it smells like ground spices all day long. Some days the air is so thick with chili powder that everyone starts sneezing, including the customers. We don't have a big fancy storefront or anything like that. It’s just a regular shop where we keep the sacks and containers filled up. People from the nearby villages stop in when they get off the train to pick up what they need for their kitchens at home. We spend a lot of time just weighing things out on the old scales and tying up plastic bags with jute string. Sometimes the power goes out and we have to sit in the dark for a bit, but that is just how things go around here in the district. It’s a busy life. We know most of the regulars by their faces even if we don't always remember every name. It’s a simple setup. We keep the floor swept as much as possible but with the station so close, the dirt always finds its way back in. We just keep doing what we do every morning until it’s time to pull the shutter down at night. The ceiling fan wobbles a bit when it's on high speed, making a clicking sound that we’ve all just gotten used to over the years.