Maa Arnapurna Rice

Our mill is right near the Temathani Bus Stop in Sabang. It’s a convenient spot because the buses are always dropping people off right by our front door. Maa Arnapurna Rice is a family thing. We live not too far from the mill site in Paschim Medinipur. Every morning, I walk over and unlock the big metal shutters. The sound of the shutters opening is like an alarm clock for the neighborhood. We have a big open area where we spread the rice to dry in the sun. You have to keep an eye on the birds, or they will eat half the profit. We use long wooden rakes to turn the grain over. It’s a slow process, but the sun does a better job than any machine could. When the clouds come over, we all have to run out and cover everything with plastic sheets. It’s quite a sight to see everyone rushing. The mill itself is inside a tall building with a tin roof. When it rains, you can’t hear yourself think because of the noise on the tin. We don't have any fancy signs, just the name painted on the wall. Most of our customers are people we've known since we were kids. We sit on plastic chairs out front and talk about the crop prices while we drink chai. It’s a basic life, but it works for us.