Maa Bhawani Ice

Working with ice is a different kind of business. Maa Bhawani Ice is located on Indrapuri Road, right across from Hotel Blue Crystal in Ranchi. Our day starts earlier than most because people need ice before the sun gets too hot. We handle big blocks and smaller cubes too. It’s cold and wet work, as you can imagine. The shop is on Ratu Road, which is always busy with traffic and people going towards the main city. I spend a lot of time checking the freezers and making sure the water supply is okay. It’s not like a grocery store where people browse; here, they know exactly what they want. Usually, they are in a rush to get the ice back before it melts. We get local vendors, some restaurant folks, and even people having parties at home. The floor is almost always damp, so we have to be careful not to slip. Ranchi summers make us very busy, but even in the rainy season, there’s always someone needing ice for something. I’ve got a few guys helping with the heavy lifting because those blocks are no joke. We don't have a fancy office or anything. It’s just the storage area and the place where we load the rickshaws. It’s honest work, keeping things cool for the neighborhood. Ratu Road can be a bit loud, but we are used to it by now. We just stay focused on the freezing.