Mani Paan

You can find us over in Sector 23 at 16-B. It’s a small corner spot where we spend most of our day. We’ve been serving paan to the local crowd for a long time. People stop by after their dinner or during their short work breaks. We have the usual stuff like betel leaves, some sweets, and cigarettes too. The counter is usually covered in fresh leaves we get every morning from the market. It’s a bit of a social spot, really. Guys stand around and talk about the daily news or cricket scores while they wait. We don’t have any fancy seating or anything like that. You just stand on the pavement and chat for a bit. Sometimes the rain gets a bit much and everyone huddles under the small awning we have out front. We try to keep the ingredients fresh because that’s what really matters most in a good paan. There’s a specific way to fold the leaf so it doesn’t fall apart, which took me some time to learn properly. My hands are usually stained with a bit of red by the end of the shift. It’s not a big business, just a local stall. We know which neighbor likes more lime and who wants it extra sweet with more gulkand. That’s the nice thing about being in the same spot for years. You get to know all the faces in the neighborhood. It’s just how things are around here in Sector 23. We open early and don't close until the street gets quiet. It's a simple way to make a living, and we like the people.