Jay Mahakali Halwawala

Our shop, Jay Mahakali Halwawala, is located at Surat 6th Main, 2nd stage 7/1024/37. We have been making sweets here for quite some time. The main thing we do is halwa, but we have other treats too. You can usually smell the sugar and ghee from a block away if the wind is right. We use big metal vats to cook everything down. It’s hot work, especially in the afternoons. We don't have a lot of fancy decorations in the shop. It's mostly just glass cases where the sweets are laid out on silver trays. People come in for boxes of sweets when there’s a wedding or a festival happening in Surat. We also have some savory snacks on the side because people like a bit of salt with their sugar. The floor is often a little sticky, no matter how much we wash it, because that’s just what happens when you work with syrup all day. I’ve been working behind this counter since I was much younger. My family has always been into this kind of work. We aren't trying to be the biggest shop in town, just a reliable one where you know what you're getting. Sometimes we run out of the most popular halwa before the evening, so regulars know to come early. It’s a busy life, but it’s nice to see people happy when they take home a box of fresh sweets.