Sri Balaji Rice Mill

You can find us at number 26 on South Street, right in the heart of Tirukkoyilur. It’s a busy street, especially during the festival times when the temple crowds are out, and the mill adds its own rhythm to the neighborhood. The building is old, with high ceilings and walls that have seen many years of dust and work. We have piles of sacks stacked up almost to the rafters, waiting to be sent out. The sound of the de-husking machine is a constant backdrop to everything we do. It’s a lot of sweat and heavy lifting, especially when the weather gets hot and the air inside the mill feels thick. We don't use any fancy management software or anything like that; most things are recorded in big ledgers with a pen. Everyone who works here has their own way of doing things, but it all gets finished in the end. Sometimes the power goes out, and we all just sit outside on the steps and wait for it to come back, talking about the weather or the price of grain. The South Street location means we see everyone passing by, from kids going to school to the old men heading to the market. We’ve become a part of the daily scenery here. It’s just a regular rice mill doing regular work for the people around Tirukkoyilur, nothing more and nothing less than that. We just focus on getting the rice ready for the trucks.