Poona Sweets

Over in Karve Nagar on the 2nd Main, we are usually up before the sun to start getting the snacks ready. The display cases get filled with trays of sweets and savories by eight in the morning. We see a lot of people stopping by on their way to the temple or taking boxes home for their families. The owner usually sits right by the entrance near the register, keeping an eye on the street. It gets very crowded during the festival seasons, and we have to bring in extra help just to keep the lines moving. The smell of ghee and fried dough is always in the air. We have some old fans on the ceiling that hum all day, but they do not do much when the shop is full of people. We try to keep the glass clean, but there are always fingerprints from people pointing at what they want. Sometimes the supply of milk is late, which slows everything down in the kitchen. We use a lot of paper bags and cardboard boxes, and there is usually a pile of them waiting to be folded in the back room. The floor is made of old stone and it stays cool even when it is hot outside. We have been in this spot for a long time and the neighborhood has changed a lot around us. We just keep the trays full and wait for the next customer.