Rahul Sharma Pan Wala

I've been here in Shiv Colony for a while now. My shop, Rahul Sharma Pan Wala, isn't much to look at from the outside, but it gets the job done. Haillymandi is a busy place, and I see a lot of faces every single day. Some people just want a quick thing after their lunch, and others stay to chat for ten minutes about the weather or the news. I keep my counter clean, or I try to at least. There are always jars to refill and leaves to clean. My hands usually smell like areca nut and lime by the end of the shift. It’s a small life, honestly. I open early when the sun is just coming up and I stay until the street lights have been on for a few hours. People know where to find me. They come by on their bikes or walking home from work. Sometimes the kids run past and wave. It gets dusty out here because of the road, so I’m always wiping things down. I don’t have fancy chairs or anything like that. It’s just me and the wooden stall. I’ve lived in this area long enough to know most of the families around here. If someone is missing or something happens, I usually hear about it first. That’s how it goes in a place like this. We just keep moving along, one day after another.