Kheteteshwara Pooja Sweets

If you go down to Hebbagodi 24, you’ll find us easily because of the smell of ghee and sugar. We do two things here: sweets and items for pooja. It’s a bit of an odd mix for some, but for the people living around here, it makes sense. They stop in to get some flowers or incense and then pick up a box of laddoos on their way to the temple or back home. The shop is small and the glass counters are always full. We spend most of the day in the back room where it’s hot from the big pans of milk boiling down. It takes a long time to make sweets properly, and there aren't any shortcuts that actually work. During the festival seasons, we don't sleep much. Everyone wants their orders at the same time and the shop gets packed with people. The rest of the year, it’s just a steady stream of locals. We have some shelves with bells and small lamps too. It’s a bit dusty because of the road outside, so we are always wiping things down with a cloth. We don't have any fancy packaging, just the regular boxes and bags. My family has been doing this for a while, and we just keep the tradition going without making a big fuss about it. It’s a neighborhood shop, and we like it that way. Most people who come in are neighbors we’ve known for years.