Jagdish Pan Bhandar

The shop is very small, just a little spot in Udaipuriya Bazar, but Jagdish Pan Bhandar has been here since I was a young boy. I remember watching my uncle fold the green leaves with such speed that his hands were just a blur to me. Now I do the same thing every day. The wooden counter is worn smooth from years of elbows leaning on it while people chat about the weather or the high price of vegetables in the market. I keep my jars of supari and gulkand lined up just so, even though I am the only one who really sees them back here. Being in the middle of the bazaar means there is always something happening right outside the door. Sometimes the cows block the narrow path and sometimes the rain turns the whole street into a muddy mess, but people still find their way here for a pan after they finish their dinner. My fingers are usually stained a bit red from the lime and the colors we use, and no amount of washing really gets it all off at the end of the day. It is a quiet kind of work, listening to the gossip of the town and putting together the right kind of fold for someone. We do not have a big sign or anything to pull people in, they just know where we are. It gets dark early in these narrow streets but the light stays on.