Sandy Da Dhaba

Being out here on the G.T. Road in Samalkha means we see a lot of different people every single day. Sandy Da Dhaba is right near the Gurdwara, so we get a lot of locals and also travelers who are just passing through Panipat. The road is always dusty and full of big trucks, which makes the atmosphere out here very specific. We start the tandoor early in the morning, and the smoke usually hangs in the air for a while. It’s a lot of hard work keeping up with the demand, especially when a big group pulls in unexpectedly. We don't have a lot of fancy decorations or anything like that. The tables are sturdy, and the fans are always running to keep the air moving. My clothes usually smell like woodsmoke by the end of my shift, but that’s just how it goes working at a dhaba. We spend a lot of time cleaning the floors because of all the mud and dust people bring in from the highway. It’s a noisy place with the sound of engines constantly in the background, but it has a rhythm to it that I’ve grown to like. We serve what we have, and when we run out of something, we just let people know. It is a plain and honest way to make a living, and we’ve been at it for years. The Samalkha area is busy, but we just keep our heads down and work.