Lal Hotel

Lal Hotel is right in the middle of Jawahar Nagar here in Kota. If you walk down the main streets where all the coaching centers are, you will eventually find us. It’s not a hotel with fancy rooms and room service, but more of a place where people come to eat and maybe stay if they are looking for something basic. Most of our regulars are students who are tired of the food in their messes and want something that tastes a bit more like home. We have big pots of tea going all day and the smell of spices is always in the air. The benches are a bit old and the paint is peeling in some corners, but we keep the tables clean. I spend most of my time at the counter or checking on the kitchen to see if the rotis are coming out hot. We don't have a printed menu that stays the same; we just cook what is fresh that day. In the mornings, it’s very busy with people getting breakfast before their classes start. By the afternoon, it gets a bit quieter and I can take a break. It’s a loud, busy place but it has a lot of life in it. We have been here for years and have seen many students come and go from this city. Sometimes they come back to say hello after they have finished their exams and got jobs in other cities. It’s just how things are around here.