chatterbox

                   By all appearances, it’s a humble dhaba (makeshift eating place), but the food here is wonderful, great, super - and these are just some of the adjectives that the range and taste of food at this dhaba invites, and indeed, deserves.

Open from nine in the morning till eleven and sometimes even later at night, this dhaba has a remarkably varied clientele, and it seems to keep growing. “Whoever eats here once, comes again and again,” admits the owner proudly. Lunch time particularly witnesses brisk business with a lot of laughter and lively chatter in the air and there is often a long wait for a table.

Invariably, somebody comments, “great food, let’s try this is as well” and most people end up ordering more than they had intended or planned. Who are these people usually? It varies on what time of day it is, with lunch time drawing office goers and students from the many prestigious institutes and offices in the vicinity, all across the road, actually. In fact, even though this very popular dhaba has no name, it is located at a fascinating spot, with a recent addition just behind it lending a whole new dimension, often questionable, to the eating experience. But first, a glimpse of its age-old backdrop, now known as Sanjay Van. For those who missed earlier columns on this distinctive forest, amidst trees and bushes, outcroppings of smoothly chiseled reddish brown rocks are interspersed with man-made wells and an artificial “lake” with wild ducks and other water birds inhabiting it, unmindful of the algae. At one end, a miniature waterfall has been created and its run-off forms a small, shallow stream which runs through the forest and ends near the dhaba, forming a small waterbody here as well. Half submerged tree trunks add a surrealistic look to both these waterbodies, formed, we were informed by a forest guard, with recycled sewage water from the residential areas fringing the forest and others further around. But perhaps the most striking feature of this unusual forest is the number of samadhis (last resting places of sadhus ) and graves. In the ancient temple of Goraknath, for instance, there is the samadhi of a sadhu dated 1876, along with other samadhis.

Further up, there are the twin graves known as the “Sayyad ki kabar”. Recently, a small temple of Goddess Durga-Kali has been erected against one of the walls of the Sayyad ki kabar, along with a temple of Hanumanji against an adjoining wall. Closeby, there are other graves. In another part of the forest, under the spreading boughs of a keekar tree is the unostentatious grave of “Pir sahib”. An old wall built by royal rulers runs near this grave. At one corner of this wall now half hidden by bushes and vegetation, there seems to be a guard house with a staircase leading up to another graveyard. It is said that these graves, and another grave at a lower level are those of royal disciples of the ‘Pir’.

Towards the Mehrauli side, is a Dargah popularly known as the Dargah of Ashiq Allah. There are many graves here and an old well whose water is credited with magical qualities. A fakir or Baba who lives at this Dargah is supposed to possess great powers, but he is curt and entertains “requests” only when “in the mood”. People come from long distances to this Dargah and many get lost in the forest because trees and rocks obstruct a clear view - one moment you can’t see anything and in the next few steps you’re suddenly at the Dargah. In any case, from the rooftop of the Dargah, where there are several graves, you can obtain a panoramic view of not just the forest, but also a large part of Delhi. Drawn by the peace and serenity of the envi rons, people who “discovered” the forest, go for a walk in the area and later, sometimes stop at the dhaba for a quick bite. In the evenings and mornings, there are a few joggers and exercise buffs on the fairly wellmaintained, shady pathways in the forest. In the afternoon, there are a few strollers from offices located at the adjacent Qutub Crescent.

And almost throughout the day, at odd spots in the forest, can be spotted DDA (Delhi Development Authority) employees who take care of the forest, a couple of goat herdsman, a handful of village women collecting firewood and some children collecting berries. But once again, coming face to face with them is a matter of chance. What you do encounter frequently are peacocks in gorgeous plumage, squirrels, the seven sisters, hoopoes, occasionally deer, nilgai, beautiful butterflies, parrots and many other birds and smaller animals.

There is also a quila or fort dating, it is said, from the time of the early 11th-12th century Muslim rulers of Delhi. This quila is known as the Kutta-billi ka kila (fort of the dog and the cat) because it is believed that two graves here are those of the beloved pets of a Muslim ruler. It is in the vicinity of this quila that murders seem to take place and just recently, in the first week of December, a decomposed body of a man was found in the bushes.

Certainly, there is something eerie about this quila and you suddenly realise that unseen forms often shadow you in the forest, particularly when you’re close to or passing by any of the graves. Sometimes, you hear the patter of feet right behind you and a discreet cough, but there is no one around. This pattern is repeated after every few yards, even when you’re on a short stretch clear of bushes and trees. Often, you hear the sound of voices close at hand, but again there is no one to be seen. At other times, peacocks and other animals and birds give out alarm calls, but don’t flee from the area, and soon you begin to sense an unseen presence. Naturally, such a forest impats its own aura to the dhaba.

Till some time ago, such supernatural experiences were confined to the forest, the Spirit Forest, as I call it. But now, a cremation ground had been constructed just behind the dhaba. In fact, the dhaba and the cremation ground share the same wall and use the same water taps and this is what initially and sometimes mid-way when you’re eating at the dhaba, raises questions in the mind.

It is indeed a strange experience to be concentrating on your food when less than a stone’s throw away, a dead body is being cre mated. But as the owner says, “We are helpless in this matter. Fortunately, cremations take place rarely here and they’re soon over in any case”. Even more fortunately, the dhaba’s regular clients have taken the cremation ground in their stride - a testimony to the taste and quality of the food at the dhaba. Obviously, losing clients is not not a cause of worry for the dhaba owner. But what had been worrying him lately was the disappearance of food from the dbaba, and it usually happened late at night, making it even more baffling. For quite a bit of its storage, the dhaba uses a large old deep freeze, using ice to keep it cool in the absence of electricity. It was from this deep freeze that the food started vanishing. At first, the dhaba owner suspected one of his half a dozen or so employees who slept on the premises, cooks, waiters and utensil cleaners of stealing the food. But that puzzled him, because they were all old hands and in any case he left them free to eat and drink what they wanted and as much as they wanted.

Nevertheless, he gave all of them a warning, but still the food continued to vanish, at which point the dhaba owner decided to keep a secret vigil at night. At around one o clock at night, he heard somebody lift the lid of the deep freeze and immediately shone his powerful torch. There was no one near the deep freeze, yet the lid was open. He checked on his employees, they were all fast asleep and too far from the deep freeze to have made a dash back to their bedding. And when he looked in the deep freeze, several one-serving packets of butter had disappeared. The next night, the same eerie sequence was repeated, with three packets of Frooti, a fruit drink, vanishing this time.

It was clear that an unseen agency was at work, and thinking back, the dhaba owner co-related the construction of the cremation ground with the mysterious disappearance of the food. Was a hungry ghost or a ghost who loved food haunting the dhaba? The employees too confirmed that they often felt uneasy, as if somebody unseen was present, before they turned in for the night. The dhaba owner is a very practical man. A hungry ghost or a ghost who loved food, he had an answer for both.

The cremation ground was now there to stay, he reasoned, and so was the ghost till as long as it chose to. Therefore, instructions were given to the cook to prepare a special plate of assorted food last thing at night and leave it on the deep freeze.

The hungry or food loving ghost is obviously pleased, because no more food is stolen and the employees have reported that ever since the special plate is left on the deep freeze, an unseen form can be heard humming happily in the dead of night. The dhaba’s food is obviously wonderful, great, super for the living as well as the dead.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS