Punjab da Pehelwan Dhaba - Indian Roadside Eateries

The other day late in the evening, I espied this signage on a roadside on the famous Grand Trunk Road that is now known as National Highway 2.

The Grand Trunk Road has a definite girth of adventure to it. For hundreds of years it was the route into the fabled riches of India. It was the vital blood line of a civilization. The dusty road bears the footprints of the invading armies and settlers from Europe and Asia. It ran for more than 2500 kms from Kabul and Khyber Pass in the North West into the plains and then on to Chittagong in the present day Bangladesh.

It was a ribbon of dust and stones that ran parallel to the mighty Ganges and it prompted Rudyard Kipling to call it “such a river of life that as nowhere else exists in the world”. Before the British called it the GT Road, Sher Shah Suri a Pashtun Badshah overhauled and reconstructed the king of all roads in circa 1540 with mile stones, shade trees and caravanserais.
The legendary road is still very much there today, but is now paved with tarmacadam, dividers, toll booths and shade trees. Dotted at regular intervals are modern day versions of the caravanserais, of functional hospitality, popularly known as “Dhabas”.
A dhaba is something totally unique and Indian. Born as a pit stop for burly truck drivers ferrying goods, it comprises of 3 walls with a plastic tarpaulin or a thatched top. Charpoys are laid out in the front courtyard and they function as a chair, a table as well as a bed. Most drivers in the early years were from Punjab and dhabas catered to them. The food still resonates with wholesome earthy flavors, a dash of dairy products and the ubiquitous presence of tea to keep the drivers fresh and awake.

2 months ago a feature on another "Pahalwan Dhaba" appeared in the BBC GoodFood magazine

( www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151928835674002&set... )

and it was a quite a surprise to see another one with the same name pop up somewhere else. Frankly the word Pahalwan is being used almost everywhere for new dhabas opening up elsewhere.

Dates
Taken on November 5, 2013 at 7.44PM IST (edit)
Posted to Flickr November 10, 2013 at 11.37PM IST (edit)
Exif data
Camera Nikon D800
Exposure 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture f/5.0
Focal Length 29 mm
ISO Speed 1000
Exposure Bias -2 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire
_DSC5445 from jpeg

Taken on: November 5, 2013

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Sets appears in: • Delhi

Camera: Nikon D800, f/5.0, 1/40 sec, 29mm, ISO 1000 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D800
Lens:	24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.025 sec (1/40)
Focal Length:	29mm
ISO:	1000
Exposure Bias:	-2 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain up
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows
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