Bombay Sweets

The shop is right here in Nagpada A/5, nestled among the other old buildings that make up this part of the city. We have been opening the shutters every morning for a long time now. It is always a bit dusty outside, but once the glass cases are wiped down, the sweets look bright and ready for the day. You can smell the sugar syrup from the street if the wind is blowing the right way. Most of the time, the fan inside just hums and moves the warm air around while we wait for the first few people to stop by. Sometimes the milk delivery is late, which makes everything run behind, but we manage to get the trays filled up eventually. There is a lot of heavy lifting with the big metal pots in the back. The floor is made of old stone that stays cool even when the sun hits the front of the shop in the afternoon. We spend a lot of time just stacking boxes and making sure the labels are straight, though they often end up a bit crooked anyway. It is a simple place where the walls could probably use a new coat of paint, but the counters are always kept clean. People from the neighborhood usually just pop their heads in to see what is fresh that day. We do not have fancy chairs or anything like that, just enough space for someone to stand and pick out what they need for their family.