Bismi Bricks Work

We run Bismi Bricks Work out here in Utukottai. It’s a quiet spot at 95, Manavilakam, mostly just fields and dust when the wind picks up. My family has been at this for a bit, just making bricks from the local mud we find around the Tiruvallur district. It’s not an easy job, especially when the rains start coming down hard and we have to cover everything up with plastic sheets so the raw bricks don't wash away. Most of the guys working here are from the nearby villages. We start early, usually before the sun gets too high, because the heat can get pretty bad around noon. The kiln stays hot all day. We load the trucks when they show up, sometimes it's busy and sometimes we just sit around waiting for the next one to arrive. There’s not much to the office, just a desk and some chairs where we talk to the drivers. We don't have a big fancy setup or anything, just the kilns and the drying area. People know where we are, right in Manavilakam. We just keep our heads down and do the work. It’s dirty work, your hands get stained orange from the clay and it stays under your fingernails for days. But that is how it goes when you’re making bricks. We’ve seen the town change a bit over the years, but the way we make these bricks hasn’t changed much at all. It’s just how we live.