Krishna Dairy & Sweet Shop

Running a shop in Darya Ganj means you are used to the noise and the crowds. We open up Krishna Dairy & Sweet Shop every morning when it is still quiet. The first thing we do is check the milk deliveries. It’s a small place, but it keeps us on our feet. The kitchen at the back is where most of the work happens, with big vats of milk boiling down for sweets. You can smell the sugar and cardamom from the street. It’s a lot of manual work, stirring the pans and making sure nothing burns. We don’t use any fancy machines for the sweets; it’s mostly done by hand. My hands are always sticky by the end of the shift. We see the same faces every day, people stopping by for a quick glass of milk or some paneer for dinner. Sometimes it gets so crowded in here you can hardly move, especially during the festival season. We try to keep things organized, but it’s often a bit chaotic. That’s just the way it goes. We don't have time for polished talk. We just want to make sure the milk is fresh and the sweets are ready before the lunch rush starts. It’s hard work, standing all day, but seeing the neighbors every day makes it feel like home. Darya Ganj is a busy part of Delhi, and we’re just one small part of its daily rhythm. We keep the counters wiped down and the fridge stocked.