For dozens of workers at a textile manufacturer on the edge of Surat, the blazing temperatures and high humidity on a recent afternoon were amplified by steam, radiating heat and chemical smells that emerged from the heavy machines that dominate nearly every inch of the low-ceilinged factory floor.
The machines, called stenters, roared like engines, boilers hissed and drum washers released clouds of steam. The sound was relentless, the air heavy.
