Lati Pan Bhandar

If you’re traveling down New Mata Road in Rajiv Nagar, you’ll probably see us if you look closely. Lati Pan Bhandar is right there on the side of the road, and we’ve been here for a while now. It’s a small shop, but it stays busy because of all the people passing through Rajiv Nagar every single day. We start early in the morning, getting the betel leaves ready and organizing all the little containers we use for the different ingredients. It’s a specific kind of work that takes some practice, and you have to be quick with your hands when a line starts to form. New Mata Road is always noisy with horns and engines, and we’re right in the thick of it from dawn until late at night. People stop their cars or lean off their motorbikes to grab something quickly before they continue their commute. We don't have much space, so everything has to be kept within reach and organized just right. Sometimes the dust from the road gets everywhere, so we are constantly cleaning the counters and the jars. It’s a simple business, really. We’ve been at this spot for a long time, and we’ve seen the road get busier and busier every year. We don't use any fancy talk to describe what we do. We just make the pan and serve the people who stop by our counter. Late nights are often our busiest times when people are heading home after their dinner. Lati Pan Bhandar is just a part of the life on New Mata Road.