Bhima Pan House

If you walk down Residency Road in Shaniwar Peth, you’ll find Bhima Pan House right there among the older buildings. It is a small shop, mostly just a counter and some shelves for the jars of supari and the different leaves. At night, the street light right outside flickers a bit, but it gives enough light for us to see what we are doing. Shaniwar Peth is a quiet neighborhood compared to the main markets, but Residency Road still gets its share of traffic. I spend a lot of time sitting on the small stool, cleaning the betel leaves and keeping them damp under a wet cloth so they don't dry out. People usually stop by after their dinner to have a chat and get a pan. We have a small radio that plays the local station, mostly just to keep some background noise going while we work. The walls could use a fresh coat of paint, and the shelf behind me is slightly crooked, but it holds all the tins just fine. It’s a small space, so I have to keep everything within arm's reach. Most of the regulars live in the apartments nearby and they’ve been coming here for years. We don't have any fancy signs or neon lights, just the name written on the board. It's just a steady rhythm of folding leaves and talking to the neighbors as they walk their dogs or head home for the night.