Kamal Punjabi Dhaba

Running this dhaba on the bypass in Dharamkot is mostly about the timing of the trucks. We are right near Basi Palace, which is a big spot people recognize. Most days start very early for us, way before the sun is even up properly. Kamal Punjabi Dhaba is just a simple place where you can sit down and get a meal. The chairs are plastic and sometimes the tables wobble a bit on the uneven floor. We spend most of our day in front of the tandoor. It gets really hot in the summer, I tell you, and the sweat just pours off. Moga can be a dusty place, so we are always wiping down the counters and the benches. We don't have a big menu, just what we know how to cook well. My brother handles the dough and I do the gravies and the serving. We get a lot of regulars who drive the long routes between cities. They want a quick meal and a bit of rest before heading back out on the road. There’s a lot of noise from the bypass traffic, but we’ve grown used to it over the years. We keep some water jars outside for anyone passing by who needs a drink. It’s not a fancy restaurant with waiters in uniforms. It’s just us in our regular clothes, making sure people get fed something hot. Sometimes the power goes out at night and we have to use the old lamps. That’s just how it goes out here.