His soiled shirt and pant are an example of his hard work. Mukesh Sharma is one of the Delhi street food vendors, who has recently gone viral on Facebook and Instagram Reels. Known as Sharma Chaat Bhandar, he has been selling Dahi Bhalle and Paapri for the last 36 years in Nehru Place. He puts his stall, near to Satyam Cineplex. I asked if he has any plans of buying a shop as he has good business now, he says, “Rental here is nothing less than Rs 3 lakhs and will have to spend another five-six lakhs in setting up the shop. I am happy operating in a small scale.”

Thanks, to his recent viral videos, Mukesh Sharma has now hired a helper as there has been a sizeable increase of his customers. When asked about the specialty of his Dahi Bhalle, he swears by his sweet chutney, which he calls Khazoor Saute (sweet chutney made of dates) and says that even if kept in sun for six months, its taste and quality will stay intact. He adds the dates chutney has a mix of 14 spices and the standalone spice jar has a mix of 16 spices. The salt alone is a mix of three different types of salt. On what makes his Bhalle, so spongy, he says the Bhalles must be immediately dipped in water as soon as they are deep fried.

He has been charging Rs 30 for every plate for quite some time now. On not increasing the price after attaining fame, he says, “I am okay earning a little less, but people should not go back, feeling upset about the price after eating here.”

I asked about his children, he said, he has a son and a daughter. I, further inquired, when does he intends to hand over the reign to his son, he says, “My son is preparing to for UPSC. I don’t want him to do this. I want him to become a bureaucrat.”