Ram Punjabi Dhaba

We sit right here in Village Banala, not too far from the post office in Mandi. If you are driving up this way, you’ll see our spot. It’s mostly just us keeping the stove going from early morning until things quiet down at night. The air gets cold here, so we keep the tea hot and the dal thick. We don’t have any fancy signs or anything like that. It’s just tables and chairs where people sit when they are tired of driving. Sometimes the road gets blocked or the rain comes down hard, and that's when it gets really busy inside. We spend a lot of time chopping vegetables and making sure the kitchen stays clean enough for everyone who stops by. My cousin helps out with the serving while I look after the accounts and the stock. We buy our supplies from the local market down the road. It’s a simple life. We’ve been at this for a while now, and the neighbors all know us by name. There’s always someone coming in asking for directions or a quick bite before they head further into the mountains. We just do what we can to make sure people leave with a full stomach. It’s not a big operation, just a family-run dhaba on the side of the road. We don't worry about much besides the food and making sure the lights stay on when it gets dark outside.