MINUS TO PLUS

 

MINUS TO PLUS

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

31/V/2022

 

As we settle in our new place, it is getting exciting. Facilities are improving and normal day to day & things are now easily available. One can imagine about ten years back when residents of our colony had started to move in, life must have been tough.

 

How far from the city one is located can be measured by simply logging into apps like Swiggy or Zomato? Two messages prominently crop up. One, that your area is not served by this service. Two, there would be extra charges levied for delivery to your location. For us if these guys can’t get things to us, we go and get things ourselves. Period!

 

Second measure is the spotting of autos in your area. There are very few and far between. One odd one can be seen while transiting through. Ola and Uber kind of vanished during covid. However, you can find the old city bus service starting right at our colony gate. Small minibuses connect you to civilization.

 

My wife and I are always on the lookout for eateries. Especially the ones which serve authentic local cuisine. If it serves non-veg then nothing like it. Sogra-meat and Lal Mass delicacies here. With summers setting in we postponed the Sogra which is a Bajre ki thick roti. Come winters we would definitely be on a look out for more joints. Dal-baatis soaked in desi ghee & Choorma cannot be ignored though.

 

One fine day there was a flier in the newspaper about a new eating joint which had opened close by. Parcel service it said. This meant you had to go to the joint, get things packed and enjoy them at home. Desi Ghee was the mainstay. Gulaab Jamun ki sabzi, Kabooli & Dal tadka were the first things we tried. Food was finger licking good. Now we are regulars.

 

Soon, next to the colony gate posters came up that another eating joint was coming up. This Dhaba was not even five hundred meters from our house. Even if guests poured in unannounced, things could be organised on a phone call. They were trying to establish themselves so the food had to be top class to cater for both the travellers on the highway and people around.

 

Fairy lights came up, posters with all kinds of meals came up, lawn came up and the crescendo was building. Every time we would return from an outing, we would have a Dekho from the road. Then one fine day after our evening walk, we checked in. The ambience and concept of seating caught our attention. It was old barrels, faces of trucks, tractors and jeeps, worn out tyres etc converted into a very sober seating arrangement. It was different.

 

The proof of the pudding was in tasting the food but unluckily neither of us was carrying mobiles nor our wallets. Those guys were ready to serve the first meal free. That is what Jodhpur and its traditions are all about. Paiyya pachhe de deejo hukum, (give the money later). They knew we wouldn't dupe them and we didn’t want to take anything without paying. We re-visited them the next day.

 

Jodhpur is famous for its ‘Mithai’. There is no point running to ‘Janta’ or ‘Rawat sweets’ which are located right in the heart of the city. Now we have ‘Padamji Sweets' is at a stone's throw away. His Rasmalai is out of this world. After Jaisalmer, where we first got addicted to this sweet, this guy matches it or rather is a shade better. Ghewar is par excellence. Sun ke jeebh lap-lapai.

 

Here there is a concept of ‘dairies’ too. One can find milk outlets on the main road on make shift tables with prepacked pure milk packets. Besides, after covid lots of pharmacies too have come up. By the way, there are many liquor joints which have popped up too. So, one can enjoy ‘dawa and daaru’ on the go. The last one is not in my syllabus anymore. It is ‘dawa & doodh’ one can’t live without.

 

Being foodies by birth, discovering new joints and trying them brings much joy. Like the other day we landed up at a place called ‘Chawala’. If one has been to Patiala or Ludhiana, this joint is famous for its ‘cream chicken’, cooked without oil, just in milk, cream and black pepper. It is ‘finger biting’ good. The authentic dish is yet to be mastered here but brought back many memories of the good old days, when we were regulars at their outlets.

 

Every place has its pluses and minuses. We have learnt to convert those minuses to pluses. With offers of authentic food already with us, it doesn’t matter if it is veg or non-veg. If it can make you salivate and tingle your taste buds, that’s it. What more can one ask for? I wonder!!!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© NOEL ELLIS