Kripa Shankar Pan Bhandar

If you walk around Old Rajinder Nagar for long enough, you’ll probably pass by Kripa Shankar Pan Bhandar. We’ve been sitting in this same spot for years now, right where the students and locals always pass through on their way home. The shop is small, just enough space for the counters and all the jars of ingredients we use every day. Mostly, it’s about the regulars who come by after their dinner or during a quick break from their studies. We keep things simple here. There’s the usual sweet pan, the plain ones, and whatever else people ask for. Sometimes the crowd gets a bit much, especially in the evenings when everyone is out for a walk and looking for something refreshing. We don’t really change much around here; the shelves have looked the same for a decade. It gets a bit dusty being on the street, but that’s just how it is in Delhi. We spend a lot of time prepping the leaves and cutting the nuts early in the morning before the sun gets too high. It’s a quiet life mostly, just chatting with whoever stops by for a few minutes. You hear a lot of gossip and news standing behind this counter. We aren't trying to be anything big, just a local shop that’s part of the neighborhood. People know where to find us if they want something to chew on after a meal. It’s just how we’ve always done it, day after day, leaf after leaf.