Gokuldas Gathiawala

We are right at Shop Number 1 in the Laxmi Building. If you are in Dadar, you probably know Dr M C Jawale Marg—it is always busy with people heading to and from the station. Gokuldas Gathiawala has been a fixture here for a bit. It is a small shop, and it gets really crowded in the evenings when everyone is looking for something to take home for tea. The smell of fresh gathia and other snacks is always in the air. We do not have a fancy seating area or anything; it is mostly people standing around or waiting for their parcels. The counter is usually covered with different varieties of snacks in glass jars. We spend our mornings getting everything ready, frying things up in the back and stacking them in the cases. It is a lot of repetitive work, but we like the rhythm of it. The traffic outside is constant, and you can hear the buses and taxis all day long. We know many of our customers by face since they have been coming here for years. We do not do any big advertising or try to sound corporate. We are just a local snack shop in Dadar. The floors get a bit oily and the heat from the kitchen can be a lot, but that is just the nature of the business. It is a simple, honest way to make a living, and we are happy to be part of the Dadar daily life.