Special Paan Ki Dukan

Special Paan Ki Dukan is located at 120 Chaura Rasta. It’s right in the middle of all the chaos of the old city. We start the day by cleaning the betel leaves and getting the pastes ready. There’s always a bit of a mess with the kattha and the lime, but that’s just how it goes when you’re making paan all day long. The shop isn’t much to look at from the outside, just a counter and some shelves for the various ingredients we use. Chaura Rasta is always full of people walking and cars honking, so it’s never really quiet here. We see all sorts of people, from students to older folks who have been living in this part of town forever. Some stop for a quick bite and others just want something to chew on while they walk. We don’t have a big staff, just a couple of us behind the counter. The fan on the ceiling doesn’t do much when it gets really hot in the summer, but we stay anyway. It’s a simple life, mostly just rolling leaves and chatting with whoever stands by the stall for a few minutes. We keep the glass jars filled with sweets and fennel seeds, and the smell of the fresh leaves stays on our clothes even after we close up. At 120, we’ve seen the street change quite a bit over the years, but the way we do things stays mostly the same.