Dakshinayan Restaurant

Working at Dakshinayan Restaurant here in Juhu means we are always on our feet. We are located right at the Anand Baug Hotel on Gandhigram Road, which is very close to the Hare Rama Hare Krishna Temple. On festival days or weekends, the whole street gets incredibly crowded with people visiting the temple, and many of them end up coming through our doors. The humidity in Mumbai can be a lot, especially in the kitchen, but we have the fans running all day to keep the air moving. Our tables are the basic wooden kind, and we don't spend much on decorations. It is more about getting the food onto the plates as fast as we can. The staff here has been around for a long time, so we all know the routine pretty well. Sometimes the noise from the traffic outside is louder than the people talking inside. We start the prep work early in the morning when the air is still a bit cool. I usually check the supplies and make sure we have enough fresh stuff for the day's menu. It is a bit of a squeeze when the place is full, and people often have to wait a little while for a seat. We just try to keep the floors swept and the water jugs filled. It is just a plain, busy restaurant in a busy part of the city. We don't have a big philosophy or anything, just the daily work.