Being a non-Punjabi living in Delhi has its perks. You get to explore a whole new world of culture, tradition, and most importantly, food. While there is no shortage of some great Punjabi food and people in Delhi, to truly understand a culture you must travel to the right location too. Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab and Haryana, has always fascinated me with its unique mix of cultures of the two states. A few months ago, I decided to visit Chandigarh to experience Punjabi culture and food in a non-Delhi fashion.
Since I drive to work and back every day, when I want to unwind and travel, I prefer to book a chauffeur-driven car. After deciding to visit Chandigarh, I started looking for a car rental company to book a reliable taxi service in Delhi.
Delhi to Chandigarh is a 4-5 hour drive (provided you can avoid Delhi’s traffic). I wanted to leave early and asked the driver to reach at sharp 6 am. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from the driver at 6:01 am saying that he was right outside my house – a good start. I was glad that I chose to avail Savaari’s Delhi to Chandigarh Taxi Service due to the excellent reviews posted by travelers.
The drive was pleasant as the driver had been on that route umpteen times. He was a qualified engineer who had decided to move into this business and was gaining some hands-on experience before he started. The journey was interesting, and within 5 hours, I was at Chandigarh. After checking in to the hotel and a quick shower, I was ready to embrace Punjabi culture and food.
I had a friend in Chandigarh who had promised to help me experience the city like a local. He knew I was visiting and by the time I finished my shower, he was waiting at the reception desk to show me around.
The experience begins
The first place he took me to was Yadav Tea Stall in Sector 43. This wasn’t what I had in mind but I went along for the ride. He ordered two deep-fried bread rolls with spicy chilli chutney. It was OUT OF THE WORLD. The flavors just exploded in my mouth. But that was not the only reason he took me there. Yadav’s stall had an interesting mix of people. Soon, we were talking to almost everybody at the stall and I would have eaten 6-7 bread rolls for free offered by these loving people we met there. My stomach was full and we had barely begun!
As we decided to move on to the next location, a couple of lawyers who were present at the stall asked us if we wanted to join them for lassi at Preet Eating Zone at Phase 7, Mohali – 10 minutes away. There was no way I could put anything else in my stomach but before I realized, my friend had already driven us there. The lassi was PERFECT. There was nothing extraordinary about it – it was just perfect. And guess what, I had two full glasses! Somehow, my stomach expanded itself to allow for the love and food of Punjabis!
The BIG FAT Punjabi Wedding
I believe that there is no better way to experience food and culture of a place than a wedding. These new-found friends (who seemed like my childhood buddies for some reason) were discussing their next day plans when I heard the word ‘shaadi’. Intrigued, I asked who was getting married and before I knew I had to promise to be at the wedding the next day – it was the wedding of one of the lawyer’s neighbor’s brother-in-law’s friend! I am serious! I can’t imagine going to my own neighbor’s brother-in-law’s wedding, forget about going to his friend’s wedding and there was no chance I would invite someone I had just met to that wedding! But, I am not a Punjabi and I was getting a taste of what it means to live life to the fullest.
The next day, though a bit skeptical, I donned the best clothes that I had carried (fortunately) and met these new friends at four in the evening. After a few hours of gift-shopping and some quick drinks, we reached the venue, a neatly manicured hotel lawn. I stopped in my tracks looking at the way the lawn was decorated for the wedding. Just standing there could make one experience the event – marriage – a celebration of life. But for Punjabis, life itself is a celebration and they take any opportunity they get to live it to the fullest. Although I didn’t know anybody there, within an hour, I was as good as a family member of the groom. We were singing, dancing, eating, drinking, and another round of dancing, eating and drinking and … The wedding went on for what seemed like forever and I didn’t want it to end.
The rest of the time in Chandigarh was all about selfless love and happiness of Punjabis with food I could never say no to! That day I understood why the world loves Punjabis so much. Balle Balle!
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