Shriram Pan Bhandar

Shriram Pan Bhandar is right on Agra Road by the Purani Chungi. Since we are on a main road, we see a lot of people passing through. It isn’t just locals; we get truck drivers and people on long trips stopping for a break. We sell all the usual things you’d expect at a pan shop. I spend most of my day behind the counter, cutting supari and getting the leaves ready. The traffic noise is constant, but you get used to it after a few weeks. We keep a few cold drinks in a small fridge too because it gets dusty out here. The shop itself is quite small, just enough room for me to stand and the shelves for the jars. We don't really have a set closing time. If there are people still on the road, we usually stay open. My son comes by in the evenings to help out so I can go get some dinner. We’ve seen this road change a lot over the years. It used to be much quieter, but now it’s busy all the time. People know us for being reliable. We don't use any fancy machines to mix things; it’s all done by hand right there in front of the customer. It’s a simple life but it keeps us busy and we like talking to the travelers who have stories from other cities. We just keep our heads down and do our work.