A leaf out of Bollywood

Durgesh’s father Shiv Narayan Pandey who belonged to Ayodhya,set up this shop in 1943. The shop,S N Pandey & Sons,is today managed by Durgesh and his three brothers. Pandey senior,now 85,comes to the shop every night after 8 p.m. for a couple of hours. The shop is open till midnight and Durgesh’s brother Hanumant,claims that the star customers walk in only after the rest of the shops in Connaught Place have closed for the day.

Hanumant was a national-level power lifter and besides managing the shop along with the rest of the family,he also coaches youngsters in power lifting. They also have another shop at North Avenue—close to the power corridors and their political clientele—that’s managed by Pandey’s eldest son. “The youngest brother has two hobbies: paan and horses. One can’t call it a stud farm,but he has a number of horses in our native place in Ayodhya,” says Hanumant.

Pandey senior,on the other hand,flaunts a Husain painting which the celebrated artist had gifted him. “Whenever M F Husain is in Delhi,he comes to our shop for his favourite paan,” says S N Pandey,recalling how

Dr Zakir Hussain had invited him for Holi Milan at the Rashtrapati Bhavan,and the time when Nehru bought paan from his shop as a gift for Liaquat Ali Khan,the first Prime Minister of Pakistan.

His paans were also served at yesteryear actor Vaijantimala’s wedding. The secret of his popularity among politicians and artistes,he says,lies in the fact that he doesn’t compromise on quality. “I stick to choona kam,kaththa zaada,and no gutkha. Also,I experiment with flavours and cater to the specific demands of my clients,” he says.