Things people notice

On the road. From Ludhiana to Chandigarh, and then on to Shimla, I amuse myself with a mental contest: "Most Creatively named Dhaba'.

But first, a word on the most uncreatively named dhaba. That khitaab goes to the 'Punjabi' dhaba, with 'New Punjabi' dhaba coming in a close second. After all, what can you get in a dhaba but Punjabi food. Chicken, black dal and the omnipresent alu gobhi!

The also rans list includes:
New Frontier dhaba
Taaran taran dhaba
Dimple dhaba
Fauji dhaba
Bunty Shunty dhaba (I kid you not!)
Din raat dhaba
Sunny full stop dhaba

The runners up prize goes to: Dhaba Non Stop dhaba. The name sounds all the more corny juxtaposed with the Airtel branding.

But the prize for 'Most Creative Dhaba Name' goes to: the one and only 'Indo German Vaishno Dhaba' near the Neelon bridge, on the outskirts of Ludhiana. I am sure they serve the same black dal, yellow gobhi and kadak brown chai as any other dhaba in Punjab. Still, I like their global attitude.

Why Indo German and not Indo Swiss? Next time around I shall definitely stop, seek out the owner and solve the mystery!

But the more interesting issue was raised by my daughter. The same highway landscape provoked this question:" Why are all the shops here named 'Amrit Lal and sons', 'Pyare mohan and sons', 'Tara Singh and sons'... Why not daughters?"

The signage on dhabas may change but society and convention will take much longer. Maybe a few more generations!