Girdhar Namkeen & Sweet

Girdhar Namkeen & Sweet is tucked away in Sarafa Bazar at Gole Nimbda 14. If you know the market, you know it’s always packed with people and the sound of bells and motorbikes. Our shop isn't very large, but we pack a lot of things into the glass cases. Every morning, the smell of the hot oil starts early because we have to get the namkeen fried and ready for the day. I’ve been working here long enough to know exactly which jars are running low just by looking at them from the back. The sweets are kept in the front where it’s a bit cooler. It gets really chaotic during the wedding season because everyone in Sarafa Bazar seems to be in a hurry. The walls could use a fresh coat of paint, and the ceiling fan makes a clicking noise that I’ve stopped noticing. We have a few regular customers who have been coming here since they were kids. They usually just walk in and take what they need without saying much. I spend most of my day weighing out bags of sev or packing boxes of laddoos. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze when we get a delivery of sugar or flour. We don't have any fancy displays, just the food sitting there in rows. It’s just a basic shop in a busy market, and we just keep doing our work every day.