The Himalayas are beautiful,
enchanting, romantic and always inviting. The Dussera holidays opened a window
of opportunity to venture into the beautiful folds of the ever-inviting
mountains. The hill stations are not too far from the plains and the drive to
them is mesmerising. The zigzag roads, though challenging for a driver, but
opens a new canvas at each turn. One actually drives back in time. From the
busy schedules with tight time lines, you feel a different relaxation, a pace
too slow to comprehend and the inhabitants never chasing any deadlines, less
the taxi drivers who are always in the hurry and a sore point in the pristine
surroundings.
As you climb up, the turns
become sharper and steeper, the vegetation is lush green and except for the
narrow road, small plants and climbers cover the earth with different shades of
green. Even the barks of the conifers are not spared. The temperatures start
dipping and the freshness knocks at the panes, telling you to switch off the ac
and sniff in the mountain fresh air. The aroma, though heavily laden with that
of pine, invites you to a new place away from the city. A mild fog diffuses the
sunlight and the afternoons appear like fresh mornings or romantic evenings.
The small streamlets and cute culverts on them add on to the beauty and music
the environment.
When all the senses of the
body get activated, how can the taste buds be left alone? Hungry by nature, the
search for the quest can’t be complete, without savouring the food of that
place. A local guide without a second thought directed us to the “Soni ka Dhaba”,
a place, couple of miles away from Chail. A hungry driver doesn’t need too many
directions to home on to the eating joint. The last few miles were covered in
no time, leaving behind some places to visit on the way back.
Soni Ka Dhaba is a small
eating joint, on the narrow road surrounded by a few shops. I don’t remember
whether, I saw the billboard, but the parked cars and restlessly waiting
tourist in front of the shop indicated it loud and clear. The waiting was too
long and restless city dwellers started thinking for an alternative option, but
no one left. The ambience wasn’t any great to write home. From outside, the
only thing I could gather was; there was a flurry of activity and the waiters
were wading their way through the awaiting crowd and serving steaming hot
beverages and ghee topped “fulkas”. The kitchen was in an adjacent shop. It was
busy with a flurry of activity. A beautiful lady at the clay Chula baked the
fulkas supported by couple of more girls, who with an unmatched expertise
rolled out the rotis. Their speed proved my opinion of slow pace of the
mountain people wrong. The exotic aroma, swift precise actions next to the hot
chula and the beautiful cook, who managed it all so smoothly, without a drop of
sweat on the forehead, attracted me. Hats off to her and her staff. With a load
full of costumers from different corners of the country standing at the gate
and equal number sitting in and ravishing as if there is no tomorrow, everyone
worked with a smile. May be that was the key ingredient of the dhaba.
Soon it was our turn, to
forget the rest of the world and savour the lunch. The hunger had reached its
threshold and the sight of steaming food was making it uncontrollable. The menu
was limited thus saved a lot of time browsing the menu card. I love the
standard menus, it saves a lot of time and coming on to a consensus on the menu
to order for a group is difficult than passing any bill in the parliament. The
service was swift and quick. Each and every dish served deserved praise for its
taste. My wife, an exclusive cook and my dear son the taste bud and a budding cook were floored by the elusive taste of the food. Thumbs up by my daughter, who is very choosy in her tastes just nailed
it. I don’t know who was counting the hot steaming, ghee laced “fulkas”, but no
one could say “No” for the next one. Each time a fresh lot landed on the table,
it got divided into halves or quarters to reach everyone’s plate. The so-called
diet and fat conscience inner voice was lost somewhere and never it did try to
intervene. The only communication visible was that of a nodding head.
The taste still lingers on
the tongue. May be that was the USP of that place, that it needed no board or a
hoarding or a plush façade to draw the customers from all over. Wishing their
team prosperity and happiness. Lastly never miss out on the meethi roti as a
pudding. Even after a overfilled stomach, it’s awesome.
