Shyam Mungfaly & Gagjack Bhandhar

Main Goushala Road in Ghaziabad is always loud, and that’s where you’ll find us at number 317. Shyam Mungfaly & Gagjack Bhandhar is really busy when the weather starts to get a little cold. We spend a lot of time roasting the peanuts, and that smell just hangs in the air all day. It’s a good smell, though. The shop is near Dara Shing School, so we see a lot of students walking by in their uniforms, usually looking for something to snack on. The gajak comes in big crates and we have to break it down and pack it into smaller boxes. My fingers get all sticky from the jaggery, and the floor needs sweeping every hour because of the peanut shells. We have some old benches out front where people sometimes sit for a minute. The light inside the shop is a bit dim, but we know where everything is kept. Vijay Nagar is a lively place to be, and there’s always something happening on the road. We don't have a big team, just a couple of us handling the roasting and the customers. It’s hard work, especially on your feet all day, but it’s what we do. The bags of raw nuts are stacked up in the back, and we’re constantly checking the fires to make sure the roasting is just right.