Atryee Rice Mill

Atryee Rice Mill is situated at 70/1 on Usilai Road in Tirumangalam. It is a place filled with the constant hum of machinery and the smell of raw grain. The floor is always covered in a thin layer of rice husks, no matter how much we sweep it. We spend our days hauling heavy sacks and making sure the mill stones are working like they should. It gets very hot inside during the summer months, so we keep all the doors wide open to get a breeze. The walls are stained with years of dust and work. We don't have a lobby or a place for visitors to sit, just the workspace. People bring their harvests here and we process them as they come. There is a lot of shouting involved because the machines are so loud you can’t hear a normal voice. We drink a lot of strong tea to keep our energy up. The trucks come and go along Usilai Road, kicking up more dirt into the air. It’s a tough job and our clothes are always dirty by the end of the shift. We don't worry about looking professional. We just worry about the grain and making sure the machines don't break down in the middle of a big batch. It is a straightforward business with no frills or decorations on the walls.