Ustav Sweet

Over in Chinchwad, on the 32nd Cross of Kilari Road, you’ll find Ustav Sweet. Our shop is at Shop No 9-5 in Sambhaji Nagar, right where Chikhali Road gets busy. We open up early because that’s when the fresh milk and ingredients arrive. The smell of sugar and cardamom usually fills the shop by mid-morning. We spend hours standing by the counters, arranging different kinds of barfis and ladoos. It’s a lot of manual work, making sure the displays look full and the glass is wiped clean of fingerprints. People from the nearby houses in Sambhaji Nagar stop by for a box of sweets when they have guests or if there’s a small celebration. We don't use any fancy machines; most of what we do is just how it's always been done. During the holidays, it gets really hectic and we barely have time to sit down. We have to keep track of what’s selling fast so we don’t run out. The floor can get a bit sticky by the end of the day, so we’re always mopping. It’s a plain shop with a few benches for people to wait while we pack their orders. We don't have any big marketing plans; we just focus on making the sweets every day and serving the people who walk through the door. It’s a noisy, sweet-smelling life here on Chikhali Road. We often run out of the most popular items by evening time when the commuters pass by.