Buta Singh Sanjay Halwai

Our shop is right by the railway fatak on Kacha Malak Road in Jagraon. You can’t miss it because of the sound of the trains passing by and the smell of the sugar syrup boiling. Buta Singh Sanjay Halwai has been a fixture here near Street Number 1 for a long time. We spend most of our lives standing over huge open fires, stirring milk until it thickens or frying batches of sweets. The railway crossing can be a pain when we’re trying to get deliveries out, but it’s just part of being in this spot near Guru Nanak. We aren't some polished retail chain. Our walls have some cracks and the floor is always a bit sticky from the syrup, but that’s a halwai shop for you. We use the same heavy iron kadhais that have been used for years. It’s hot, sticky work, and our clothes usually smell like ghee by the end of the day. We serve the local families in Jagraon who come in for their morning snacks or for large boxes of sweets for their daughters' weddings. We don't have a big marketing plan. We just open the shutters early, get the milk boiling, and start our day. Sometimes we make too much, sometimes we run out early. It’s just us doing what we’ve always done, right here by the tracks, serving the people who pass by.