ગુજરાતી
English
October 2025
Many women in Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, work from home. But Ahmedabad has a thriving market for the roti trade. The lane between the Jagannath Temple and Hebat Khan Mosque in Jamalpur, Ahmedabad, has been a roti market for 20 years. Plain roti, phulka roti, and thick roti are available here.
Ten years ago, roti was sold for 2 rupees, and 4,000 rotis were made daily. Now, it’s estimated that 10,000 rotis are made. The aroma of ghee-coated rotis wafts into the lane.
More than 17 million women in India work from home. It’s estimated that 1 million women are in Gujarat. The roti-making business is also popular.
In the morning, thousands of rotis are baked on the stoves outside women’s homes. They start making rotis at 3 a.m. and by morning, they’re ready for customers to enjoy hot rotis. After the roti-making stops in the afternoon, rotis are made again in the evening. Rotis are made on a pan.
Rotis are transported from here to homes, weddings, funerals, caste ceremonies, celebrations, children’s parties, domestic events, parties, PGs, tiffin vendors, canteens, dhabas, and hotels. Cooked rotis are taken by truck drivers and roti vendors. They take extra rotis to jobs, businesses, and places where they don’t have time to make rotis. Therefore, rotis are made in bulk.
One woman makes and sells four hundred rotis daily. Her husband helps her in this work. She sells rotis for three rupees each. She earns a profit of 40 to 50 rupees per 100 rotis. Many women hire artisans to make rotis for this purpose. The prices of flour and gas are rising.
Bread buyers come from different castes, communities, and religions. Twenty years ago, Muslim women began making and selling roti in this street. Initially, two women did this work, and by 2025, 23 women were trading roti wholesale.
Most of the roti-making women live in one-room houses with their families. Some also live in rented accommodation. The number of women in this business is increasing. These women come from the daily wage earning class and eat daily.
Roti is made at several places in Jamalpur, and roti is sold here. People come from far and wide to buy roti. Many customers have been buying roti here for years.
They don’t sell fast food or vegetables, but only freshly made roti. People cook dal at home and come here to buy roti. Customers also include students and singles. The price of roti is cheaper than water. Large crowds of people come to buy roti.
They place orders in advance by phone. Suddenly, roti buyers arrive, buying fifty or sixty rotis at a time. Therefore, they have to prepare fifty rotis and store them. If someone comes to buy one and starts making them, it takes an hour. Customers can’t wait that long. If any rotis are left, they give them to the cow the next day.
Home Business
Every city has a local market. Surat has Ponk Bazaar.
An economic policy should be developed for people who find employment from home. No progress has been made in this direction. Women’s work is invisible. There is no social security. Families love it. They feed themselves through their business and others through their bread. If a paddy field or work shed were built, they could benefit greatly.
Women’s participation in the workforce was 25.3 percent in 2017-18. This increased by 10.3 percent to 35.6 percent in 2021-22. These women, who support their homes by doing both small and large jobs along with household chores, play a vital role in the country’s economy. These include women who make rotis, do sewing work, or make incense sticks.
Ready-made vegetables are available from highways to hotels. A business started by a woman in Ahmedabad, around 700 women in Ahmedabad earn their living by making rotis everywhere. Now that roti-making machines have arrived, Ahmedabad’s roti market may pose a challenge.
India’s Famous Roti Market
Roti and rice are an integral part of Indian cuisine.
In Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, there is a market known as Roti Bazaar or Roti Mandi.
More than 50 women and men make and sell rotis around Prayagraj University.
More than 50,000 rotis are sold daily at the Roti Mandi. This roti market is set up near the ATM intersection in Colonelganj, Prayagraj. There are seven or eight shops here that sell only rotis.
There is also a market in Lucknow. The Nawabs of Lucknow started several types of roti markets. The old market here is essentially a roti market. It sells sheermal, naan, khamari rotli, rumali rotli, kulcha, and a variety of other rotis. There are 15 shops here. Sheermal is the best-selling product. Made from refined flour, milk, and ghee, the saffron-colored sheermal is crispy and delicious. After baking in the tandoor, ghee is applied to it for aroma.
The global sourdough bread market is projected to grow by 6.8% from 2025 to 2035.
