Gopal Cook & Halwai

We’ve been here at Hargobind Nagar 165 for a while now. Most people around here know us because they see us working early in the morning. Being a cook and halwai means you don't get much sleep. We spend most of the day standing over big pots or making sure the sweets are cooling right. It’s just how things go. Gopal started this because he liked making food for weddings and small parties. Now we just do it from this spot. The kitchen gets hot, especially in the summer, but we stay busy. Sometimes it's messy and there’s flour everywhere on the floor, but that’s part of the job. We don’t have fancy chairs or anything, just a place where you can get your food. People stop by on their way home from work. They might talk for a minute or just grab what they need and go. We know most of the neighbors by name. It’s a small shop. We don’t do anything too complicated. Just the usual stuff you’d expect from a halwai. Some days are busier than others, especially when there’s a holiday coming up. Then we have to bring in extra help to keep up with the frying. It’s hard work, and our hands are always stained with spices or sticky from the sugar syrup. That’s just life here. We keep the doors open and keep the stoves going. There is nothing more to it than that.