Laxmi Steel

We are located just outside Ahara Darwaja, not too far from Anil Dyeing. You can usually tell you’re close when you see the big stacks of metal rods near the road. It’s a simple setup we’ve got here. We don't have an office with air conditioning or anything like that. Just a small desk in the corner of the warehouse where we keep the books. The work is heavy. We spend the day moving steel around and cutting it to size for people. It’s noisy because of the saws and the trucks. Sometimes the dye from the factory next door colors the water in the puddles outside after it rains. We don't worry too much about appearances. The floor is mostly dirt and metal scraps. My hands are always rough from handling the material, but that’s the job. People come to us because they know we’ve been here a long time. We don't do much talking; we just get the orders loaded up so the trucks can get back on the road. It’s a basic life, but it keeps us busy. In the evenings, we sit out front for a bit before closing up. There’s always a lot of dust in the air, but it’s just part of being near the gate. We just try to get through the orders every day.