Thakkar Moti Harji Mithaiwala

Down here in Bhagal, specifically in Athugar Mahollo, things get moving pretty early in the morning. We’ve got the stoves going before most people are even awake. Being a mithaiwala means you’re always around the smell of sugar and milk. It sticks to your clothes, but you get used to it after a while. The shop isn’t huge, but we make it work. We have the big pans and the trays lined up. It gets crowded in this part of town, especially during the festival times when everyone wants something sweet for their house. We try to keep things organized, but when there are five people talking at once, it’s a bit of a scramble. My father used to say that the heat from the kitchen is just part of the job. We spend most of our time in the back prep area and then bring the fresh batches out to the front. The floor gets a bit sticky sometimes, no matter how much we scrub it at night. People know us by the name Thakkar Moti Harji, and they usually find us without needing a map since we’ve been in this spot for so long. Athugar Mahollo has a lot of history, and we’re just one small part of it. We open the shutters, set out the trays, and wait for the first customers to walk in. It’s simple work, but it keeps us busy from the early morning until late at night.