Kudumba Masala

We’ve been here at the old bus stand area in Srungavarapu Kota for a while now. If you walk down Vizianagaram Road, you’ll probably find us by the smell of the chillies and coriander before you see the sign. It’s a busy spot with all the buses coming and going, but we’ve gotten used to the noise over the years. My family started this because we knew how to handle spices, and honestly, it’s just what we do every single day. We spend a lot of time cleaning the seeds and making sure everything is dry before it goes into the machine. Sometimes the machine acts up when it’s too humid, but that’s just part of the job in Skota. People stop by on their way home from work to grab a packet or two. It isn’t some big fancy factory, just a small place where we work with our hands mostly. We don’t have a big team, just a few of us making sure the packets are filled right and the floors stay somewhat clean despite the dust. The sun hits the front of the shop pretty hard in the afternoons, so we usually sit a bit further back then. It’s a simple life here. We see the same faces every week, and we know who likes the extra spicy mix and who wants something milder for their sambar. That’s just how it goes at 37/6.