Shree Mahaveer Namkeen Bhandar

Running this namkeen bhandar in Gumanpura keeps us pretty busy from morning until late at night. The smell of frying gram flour and spices usually fills the whole street around our shop. We have a few big iron vats where we fry the snacks in batches. It is a messy job and our clothes usually end up smelling like oil by the time we go home. We have been here for years and the shop looks a bit old now. The paint is peeling in some corners and the wooden counters have scratches from all the bags being dragged across them. We don't really bother with decorating because we are too busy keeping up with the people coming in. Customers stand on the pavement and wait for their turn while we scoop the mixture into paper bags. We use a lot of black salt and chili, so it can make you sneeze if you stand too close to the mixing area. My uncle started this place and now a couple of us cousins manage the daily work. It is not a quiet job because of the traffic outside and the constant sound of the frying. We don’t have a big staff, just a few of us doing everything from cooking to cleaning. Sometimes the rain leaks a little near the front door but we just put a bucket there and keep going. It is just how things are in a local market like this.