Malvani Baazar

You can find us at number 6 in the Harnabai Chawl. We are located right on Gavdevi Road Hill in Bhandup West. It’s a climb to get up here, especially when the weather is humid, but the view of the neighborhood is okay. The shop itself is quite small, like most of the places in the chawl. We have shelves lining every inch of the walls to hold all the Malvani goods people look for. It’s usually pretty crowded inside because we try to stock a bit of everything. Since we are in Bhandup West, there’s always people walking past on their way to work or coming back home. The morning rush is the loudest time. We spend a lot of our afternoon just rearranging things so we can find what customers want. We’ve been in this spot for years, so the walls have some cracks and the floor is worn down in the center. We don’t mind. It feels like home to us. Sometimes the electricity goes out for a bit, and we just light a few candles and keep talking to whoever is inside. It’s a community thing. We know most of the families living in the chawl and what they usually need for their kitchens. We don't do any big advertising; word of mouth has always been enough for us here on the hill.