Kishor Masale

We have been running Kishor Masale out of Shop F89 in Nawa Bazar for a good while now. It is a busy part of Pune, and if you know the area, you know how crowded it gets around here. Our shop is just one of many, but we try to keep things simple. Every morning we open up and start getting the spice mixes ready. You can usually smell the chilies and turmeric from the street before you even see the sign. It’s not a fancy place with air conditioning or glass doors. We just have our counters and the bags of spices stacked up in the back. Most of the people who come by are regulars from the neighborhood. They know what they want, and we know them by name. Sometimes the traffic in Nawa Bazar is a nightmare, especially when the delivery trucks are trying to squeeze through, but that is just how life is in this part of town. We don't have a big marketing team or anything like that. It is just us here, making sure the jars are full and the floor is swept. We spend a lot of time talking to customers about what they are cooking for dinner. It’s a lot of work, and some days are slower than others. We just keep at it because this is what we do. If you are ever near the bazar, you might see us sitting out front during the afternoon lull.