Parshwnath Namkeen Misthan Bhandar

Out here on Dahod Road, things stay pretty busy because of all the people traveling back and forth. Parshwnath Namkeen Misthan Bhandar is where we spend our whole day, mostly over the big frying vats. Making namkeen is a hot job, especially in the summer months when the air feels heavy. We start making the dough early and then the frying goes on for hours. You can smell the spices from quite a distance away. We have these big bags of gram flour and spices stacked in the corner. The shop floor gets a bit oily no matter how much we scrub it, but that’s just how it is with this kind of work. We put the sweets in the glass cases up front so people can see what’s fresh. People usually stop their bikes on the side of the road and run in for a packet of something salty to take home. We don't have fancy packaging, just plain bags and some tape. Sometimes we run out of the popular snacks by the evening and have to tell people to come back tomorrow. It’s just a few of us working here, and we mostly just talk about the weather or how busy the road is today. It’s honest work and it keeps us moving from morning until we lock up the shutters at night.