Aheli

Our place Aheli is right inside the Mayur Hotel building. If you know Swargadwar Road in Puri, you know how busy it gets with all the people going toward the beach or the temple. We are just beside that Kakatuar Khajar Dokan, which everyone knows because of the sweets they make. Usually, we start our day early when the sun is just coming up over the sea. The street starts getting noisy with rickshaws and people talking loudly. We spend most of our time making sure things are ready for whoever walks in. It’s not a fancy setup, just some tables and chairs and us trying to keep up with the orders. Sometimes the humidity makes everything feel a bit slow, but we just keep going. The walls have some old paint and the floor gets sandy because of the beach nearby, but we sweep it a few times a day. People mostly find us because they are staying at the hotel or they saw the sign while walking by. It’s a simple life here in Puri. We don’t have any big speeches to give about what we do. We just open the doors, talk to the locals, and handle the work as it comes. It gets really crowded during the festival times, and then we barely have time to sit down. That is just how it is on this road.