Astride

Our workshop, Astride, is located in the MIDC area of Bhosari, specifically at A-38 in the Pavana Industrial Co-Op Society. This place is full of the sounds of machines and metal being moved around. We are on the T-204 floor. It’s an industrial neighborhood, so there’s always something being welded or cut nearby. We’ve been part of this society for a good bit of time now. Our daily routine involves a lot of technical work, dealing with components and industrial parts that go into bigger machines. The floor is usually a bit oily, and we all wear heavy shoes for safety while we work. It’s not the kind of place you’d visit for a fancy lunch. We have our tea at the small stall down the road with the other workers. Most of our days are spent checking measurements and making sure the machines are running right. If something breaks, we usually fix it ourselves. We know the other units in the society, and sometimes we borrow tools from each other when we're in a pinch. It’s a tight-knit community of people who like working with their hands. We don't have a receptionist; if the phone rings, whoever is closest to it picks it up. The office part is just a small corner with a couple of chairs and a filing cabinet that has seen better years. We prefer it this way because it’s about the work we produce, not how the front office looks.