Chaman Pan House

I open up early every day at Lohagal Road. The Bajrang Garh Circle gets busy fast with all the bikes and cars zooming past our corner. My hands stay stained from the katha and lime, but that’s just part of the job here at Chaman Pan House. I spend a lot of time wiping down the glass jars where I keep the different types of supari and fennel seeds. People come by for a quick smoke or a folded leaf after their lunch. It gets quite hot in the afternoons, so I usually sit on my small stool and watch the traffic. I don’t have any fancy seating, just a small space where folks stand around and talk about their day. Sometimes the light at the circle stays red for a long time and that’s when I get most of my customers. I make sure the betel leaves are kept moist under a damp cloth so they stay fresh. My father used to say the quality of the leaf is everything. I don’t use any machines, everything is done by hand right here on the wooden board. It’s a simple life. The evenings are the busiest because families come out for a walk. I try to keep enough change in the drawer because people always bring big notes for a small pan. It’s a lot of folding and wrapping in newspaper bits. That’s just how it is.