Bapat Sweet Shop

Opening up the shop here on Pune-Satara Road every morning is a bit of a routine now. We are tucked away on the 3rd Cross in the New Block area, so it’s a bit quieter than the main road, but you still hear the buses rumbling past. I usually start by sweeping the front step and checking the fridge. The milk delivery comes in around six, and that’s when the real work begins. We make most things ourselves in the back room. It’s a small space, so things get crowded when we have a lot of orders to finish. My brother handles the frying while I deal with the customers who walk in. Some people have been coming here since we first opened, and they usually want the same thing every time. We don't really do anything fancy with packaging, just the standard boxes and bags. It’s a lot of work to keep the syrup at the right temperature, and sometimes we mess up a batch and have to start over. That’s just part of it. The 3rd Cross can get a bit dusty in the afternoons, so we keep the glass shut. It’s just us here, trying to keep the shelves stocked with whatever we managed to cook up. The New Block has changed a lot over the years, with new buildings going up, but our little corner stays pretty much the same. We just keep our heads down and work.