Shobha Pindi Girni

This is the flour mill, or pindi girni, run by Shobha in Ramannagudem. We are located in the Narsimhulapet area of Warangal. The machine makes a lot of noise when it’s grinding the grain into powder. You can smell the fresh flour from down the street when we are working. Most people bring their bags of rice or wheat in the mornings before it gets too hot. We have the house number listed as Ramannagudem, it’s easy to spot because of the bags stacked outside the door. The floor is always covered in a thin layer of white dust. I spend a lot of time cleaning it, but it just comes back as soon as we start the motor. It’s a small space, just enough for the motor and the grinding stones. Sometimes the power goes out and we have to tell people to come back later. That’s just how it is in the village sometimes. We don't have any fancy packaging. People bring their own containers or bags and we fill them up once the grinding is done. It’s hard work and the air gets very warm inside the room. My hands are usually dusty by the end of the shift. We’ve been serving the local families here for quite a while. It’s not a big industry, just a local mill for the neighborhood families. When the harvest season comes, we are working from very early until late at night.