Bireshwara Hindu Military Hotel

Peenya 2nd Stage is a loud part of town with all the factories and trucks. Our place is right in the middle of it. We start the fires under the big pots very early. You can smell the spices and the meat cooking from down the block. The tables are long benches because that’s how we’ve always done it. People come in, find a gap, and sit down next to whoever is already there. It gets very steamy inside because of the big pots of soup and rice. We don’t have air conditioning, just some big fans on the walls that push the hot air around. The floor is stone and we wash it down with a hose every night. We serve the food on green leaves or simple plates. There’s no fancy plating here. The staff moves fast because the workers from the Peenya factories only have a short lunch break. They want their food quick and they want it hot. We keep a big container of water in the middle for everyone to use. The walls are a bit stained from the steam over the years. We have a small picture of the deity near the entrance with a garland that we change every few days. By the afternoon, the big pots are usually empty. We spend the rest of the time cleaning up and getting the meat ready for the next day. It’s hard work, but we are used to it by now.