Babar Pindi Girni

The flour mill is a noisy place, and it’s located at our house in Shanigaram. Every day, we run the machines that grind wheat, maize, and dried chillies into fine powder for the people in Nallabelly. It is a very dusty environment. By the time the sun goes down, our clothes and even our eyelashes are usually white from all the flour floating in the air. The machines have been around for a long time and they make a very loud rhythmic thumping sound that you can hear from down the street. We take the grain that the local people bring in, usually in big jute bags. They arrive on their cycles or sometimes on foot. We have to be careful with the weighing scales to make sure everyone gets back exactly what they brought. The motors get quite warm after running for several hours, so we have to give them a break occasionally. We don't have any fancy packaging or a brand name. People just bring their own containers and we fill them up. It’s a simple business but it keeps us very busy, especially before festivals when everyone wants fresh flour for their sweets and snacks. We keep a small logbook to track who has paid and who still owes a bit. It’s just a normal part of village life in the Warangal district. We've been doing this for years and know exactly how each machine behaves.