Vardhayani Pan Shop

Vardhayani Pan Shop is just a little stall in Bavdhan. It’s not much to look at from the outside, just a counter and some shelves. I’ve been sitting here for years, watching the cars go by on the main road. The shop is small enough that I can reach almost everything without moving my chair too much. I spend a lot of my time cleaning the betel leaves and arranging the jars of sweet masala. Bavdhan has changed a lot, with more buildings going up, but the shop stays the same. I have my regular customers who stop their scooters right in front every evening. We talk about the weather or the traffic while I fix their order. I don't use a machine or anything, it's all done by hand with a little spoon and a knife. The glass jars get dusty because of the road, so I have to wipe them down every morning. Sometimes I run out of change and have to ask the guy at the tea stall next door for some coins. It’s a quiet way to make a living. I don't have a website or a fancy sign. Most people just know I’m here. When it rains, I have to pull down the plastic sheet to keep the stock dry. It’s just a basic pan shop doing what it does every day since we opened. There is nothing complicated about it, just a steady stream of familiar faces.