Sheetal Dairy

The mornings at Shop No 4 in Matunga East are always the busiest part of the day. We are right there by Liladhar Ratanshi B, and you can hear the milk trucks pulling up while it is still dark outside. My routine hasn't changed much over the years. I get the shutters up, move the heavy crates around, and make sure the fridge is running right. It’s a bit cramped in here once we get all the dairy products delivered, but we make it work somehow. Most of our regulars are folks from the neighborhood who stop by for their milk or curd before they head to work. It’s quiet in the early hours except for the sound of the plastic crates sliding on the floor. I don’t have any employees with fancy titles, just me and a couple of others who help with the heavy lifting and making change for customers. The floor stays a bit damp from the condensation, and there is always that specific smell of fresh milk in the air. Sometimes we run out of things faster than expected, and I have to make a few calls to see if more is coming soon. We don’t do any big advertising or anything like that. People just know where we are and what we have on the shelves. It is a simple way to spend the day, just selling what people need for their kitchens and chatting about the weather while they wait.