Dhabas: The Authentic flavour of Rewalsar

After spending my entire day working with my Gopro and walking down the streets of Rewalsar, I was very tired and hungry so, I decided to visit a Dhaba instead of some fancy restaurant. I heard a lot from my friends that in Rewalsar if somebody wants to have a feel of freshly prepared home-made food then one should go to a Dhaba rather than to a restaurant.

As I went to a location where I could find some dhabas, I entered a place where I could see a few dhabas in a row. I got confused where to walk in so among I chose to enter the middle one named – Thakur Dhaba. The name was highlighted in bold letters and I entered in. There were all men except a family seated next to me. The attendee in the Dhaba was talking very politely with his customers and when he came to me, he asked what would I like to have for lunch whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

I told him, vegetarian and asked him what all can I have in that. He said, ‘In one veg plate, I’ll be getting Rajma curry, dal and one dry veg with unlimited rice and chapati’. I was amused to hear this from him as I only heard of getting unlimited food in Punjab but getting such an offer in a tourist place was surprising. He brought a jug of water and a glass for me to drink and told me to wait for a few minutes. Exactly after five minutes, he brought the plate and I ate until my stomach was satisfied. In between, he kept on coming to me asking whether I wanted anything more to eat or not.

Rewalsar

Later when I was done with my food he then collected the bill and took away the plates. When he returned I asked him what is his name, since when has he been running that Dhaba and how he offers unlimited food to people that too at a less price. It was just Rs. 60 that I was supposed to pay.

He replied pleasantly that his name is Vivek Thakur and he is from Mandi now settled in Rewalsar. He said, “Unlike others, it’s not the money what I am after, it’s the inner satisfaction I get when I serve good healthy food to people. From rich to a poor person comes here and everyone is welcome. They eat whatever they want and then goes with their stomach full, no one goes from here with an empty stomach and that is what my motive is – to provide food and I take 60 rupees so that the person will value the food they eat and others can afford it and I can also carry out the work I am doing.”

I was happy to see that people with such a mindset still exists in a place where most of the people are money minded. Again it was a good experience with the locals of Himachal in Rewalsar.

For a similar experience >>Click here

For a Rewalsar Trip >>Click here