Sri Balasundaram Modern Rice Mill

Down here at 48, V A K Nagar in Arani, we run Sri Balasundaram Modern Rice Mill. It’s a place that stays pretty loud once the machines start up in the morning. We take the raw paddy and process it through the various stages until it’s ready for the bags. It is a lot of work keeping everything clean, especially with all the husks flying around. We have a few guys who have been with us for years, and they know exactly how the equipment sounds when it's running right. Arani is known for its rice, so there are a few mills around, but we just stick to our own space and get through our daily quota. The sun hits the courtyard pretty hard in the afternoons where we sometimes spread things out to dry if needed. We don’t have a big corporate team or anything like that. It is just us and the machines. Sometimes the power goes out and we have to wait, which can be frustrating when there is a lot to do. We just keep moving forward. Most of our day is spent checking the quality of the grains and making sure the bags are stitched up tight for transport. It’s practical work and it’s what we know how to do best. The office is small and usually filled with ledgers and sample bags of rice. That is basically our life here, just getting the rice ready for the market day after day.