Shiv Shakti Dairy Sweet Mart

Being located on Pandesara LBS Road means we deal with a lot of traffic and noise every day. At Shiv Shakti Dairy Sweet Mart, the day starts really early, usually around four or five. The milk trucks come in and we have to get everything unloaded before the morning rush starts. We spend hours making dahi and setting out the sweets in the glass cases. The shop smells like warm milk and sugar most of the time. It’s a small space, so we have to be careful not to bump into each other when we’re working. The counter is always a bit sticky no matter how many times we wipe it down. We don’t have any fancy posters or bright lights. It’s just a plain shop with a lot of tradition behind it. Most of the people who come here are from the neighborhood, stopping in for their daily milk or a small treat for their kids. We know their names and how much they usually buy. Sometimes the fridges hum a bit too loudly, but we’ve gotten used to it. It is a tiring job, standing on the hard floor all day, but it’s what my family has done for a long time. We just keep our heads down and focus on the work. Dealing with the LBS Road traffic is the hardest part.