Keshavlakshmi Prasadhan

You can find Keshavlakshmi Prasadhan at 1348, Sadashiv Peth. This is one of the older parts of Pune, and the streets are always full of life and a fair amount of chaos. Our shop is tucked away among many others, and if you aren't looking closely, you might walk right past the entrance. It’s a small place, packed with wooden shelves from the floor to the ceiling. We make and sell various traditional products, mostly things people use for their skin or in their daily rituals at home. The air inside is thick with the smell of different powders and herbs that we mix in the back room. It’s a very hands-on process. We don’t use big automated machines; it’s mostly just us doing things the old-fashioned way. The wooden counter at the front is worn smooth from years of customers leaning on it while they wait for their parcels. Many of our regulars are known to us by name because they’ve been coming to this same spot for decades. Sometimes they just stop by for a chat while they are out doing their morning grocery shopping. We don't have a big corporate strategy or a complicated business plan. Our focus is simply on making things the way they’ve always been made. It’s a modest living, and we like being part of the Sadashiv Peth community. The pace is fast outside on the street, but inside our shop, things feel a bit slower and more focused.