Chitralaya Banians Company

Chitralaya Banians Company is based at No. 13 in MR Nagar, which is part of the KNP Colony. We are right off Dharapuram Road. This whole area is famous for making clothes, so we are surrounded by similar small businesses. We mostly focus on making banians and other basic knitted wear. It’s a small operation. We have a few rows of machines and a cutting table that has seen a lot of use. The floor is usually covered in small scraps of white fabric. We don’t have a big sign or a fancy entrance. Most people just know where we are. Our team is small, and most of the guys have been with us for years. We don’t have a boss who sits in a separate office; we’re all pretty much on the floor together. The work is repetitive, but we try to do it well. Sometimes the orders come in all at once and we have to work extra hours to finish them. We don't have a mission statement or anything like that. We just make the clothes, pack them up, and send them off. The tea break is the highlight of the afternoon. We sit outside on the steps and watch the traffic on Dharapuram Road. It’s a quiet life in a busy way. We just keep our heads down and keep the machines running.