R K Masala

Our shop is located right at Bhagal Cross Road in Surat. It’s a very busy part of town, especially down here in Dabgarwad and Agano Vad. You can usually tell you are close by the smell of the different spices we have sitting out. We spend a lot of time grinding things and packing them into small bags for customers. The air in here is always a bit spicy, which makes some people sneeze when they first walk in, but we don't mind it anymore. We get our supplies from different places and spend the mornings sorting through them to make sure they are okay. The counter is made of heavy wood and has been here for years. Surat gets really crowded, and this cross road is one of the spots where traffic always seems to get stuck. We see a lot of people passing by on their way to work. We don't have a big sign or anything flashy, just the name and the bags of masala lined up. People from around the neighborhood come specifically for their daily cooking needs. We also have some regular restaurant guys who take larger amounts. It’s a lot of work weighing everything out by hand, but it keeps us busy. The shop isn't very large, so we have to use every inch of the walls for storage. It’s just a basic spice shop doing what we do every day.