Singari Pan Shop

The shop is just a small spot here in Yerwada at L-33. It’s not much to look at, just a counter and some wooden shelves for the various jars and packets. I spend most of my time sitting behind the glass, prepping the betel leaves and keeping the lime paste ready in the small pots. It’s a tiny space, so everything has to be within arm's reach. You get the regulars who stop by every single day after their lunch or dinner. We talk about the weather or how the road construction is going just down the street. It gets dusty because of all the trucks and buses passing by, so I'm always wiping down the counter with an old cloth. There’s a lot of small change moving back and forth all day long. I don’t keep a huge stock of fancy things, just the basics that the people around here like. In the evenings, it gets much busier when everyone is heading home from work. Sometimes someone wants a very specific mix and I have to hunt for the right jar in the back. It’s a quiet kind of work most of the time. The light inside the shop is a bit dim, but I know where every single item is without even looking. It’s just me and the shop. No big team or managers or anything like that. Just keeping the leaves fresh and the tobacco sorted. When it rains, I have to pull the plastic sheet down to stay dry.