How biscuits in this Pune shop offer customers a bite of retail history
Written by Aarushi Prakash
In the heart of Laxmi Road, one of Pune's busiest and most iconic marketplaces, stands Shanti Stores, a nearly 55-year-old business that looks like any other grocery shop – except for the shelves that display rows of old-school glass jars neatly filled with an array of biscuits. There are hexagons, circles, squares, rectangles, some with a dollop of jam in the centre, others with sprinkles and toppings, and some with layers of cream. Only an older generation would recognise the shelves as being a small museum of retailing history; their memories transporting them to a time that millennials cannot visit.
'Long before biscuits became available in colourful packaging, they used to come to shops in tins. This is how it was when our father, Mauji Bhai Soni, started Shanti Stores. We used to display the biscuits in glass jars to attract customers, who used to buy them by weight,' says Harshal Soni.
'Today, you ask for packets of biscuits. But, even in the modern era of pre-packaged biscuits, our shop still displays biscuits in jars. This keeps our father's tradition alive and provides a sense of continuity. Even today, some companies send us biscuits separately just for the display. This is a tradition going back five decades,' he adds.
There are other details from the past as well, such as stone-tiled flooring and wooden counters. But, it is the jars of bourbon biscuits, cheeselings, Jim Jams, milk biscuits and crackers, from brands such as Kwality, Britannia, Champion and others, which turn back the clock.
Shanti Stores was established in 1971 by Mauji Bhai Soni, a businessman who had moved from Kutch to Bombay before settling in Pune. In this city, he had the vision of better opportunities.
Soni passed away in 2003. Today, the store is being run by his sons Harshal, Vijay, and Dipesh.
Lovingly known as Mota Bhai, a regular customer, shares, 'Generations have come to this shop. I have seen grandparents bring their little ones, and now those kids bring their children. The tradition carries on. We come here because online grocery shopping lacks the charm of a store. It is missing that connection, that human touch, and that's exactly what we find here.'
Harshal recalls how the practice of delivering biscuits in tins had generated another line of business. 'When biscuits were not sealed in plastic wrappers and arrived in tin jars, some pieces would break during transport. These broken biscuits were collected in a separate jar and sold at a lower price as mixed biscuits. You never knew what combination you would get – Bourbon, Monaco, and cream biscuits could all be in one bag. This became a big hit with children and families. There was a small surprise in every handful,' he says.
The shop also sells snacks, dry fruits and other items, but it is the jars that draw returning customers. 'Some families have been coming here for four generations. They remember this from their childhood and want their children to see it too,' says Harshal.
However, the future of Shanti Stores is uncertain. 'All our children have moved abroad. There is no one from the next generation to run the shop, but we are still hopeful,' says Harshal.
Even as the world around it has changed, Shanti Stores has not tried to catch up – instead, it has upheld the simple idea that tradition retains its value when preserved with care.
Aarushi Prakash is an intern with The Indian Express
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