Rama Bhojnyalay

Our little eatery is right at 37 Chowk Parade, sitting on the Hospital Road. It’s a very busy part of Kanpur, so there is always noise and people rushing past our door. We mostly serve the people who are visiting the hospital or the workers from the nearby shops who need a quick lunch. The kitchen is small and it gets very hot in the summer, but we keep the fans blowing as much as we can. We serve everything on stainless steel plates that we wash ourselves in the back. There isn't much room for sitting, so people often have to squeeze in or wait for a stool to open up. I get up early to go to the market for the day's vegetables and spices. We don't have a printed menu because we just make what is fresh that day. My wife helps with the cooking and I handle the customers and the money. It's a lot of work standing on your feet all day, especially when the lunch rush hits and everyone wants their food at the same time. We’ve been in this same spot for years, and we’ve seen the street change quite a bit, but we just keep doing the same thing. It’s simple food for working people, and we try to keep the prices where folks can afford them. It's just a regular bhojnyalay in a crowded corner of the city.