On the road to Adani mines
Sachin Chauhan alerted me well in advance that Akhilesh Jaiswal is unlikely to please me with vegetarian lunch at his dhaba on the road to Adani mines in Singrauli, a coal belt area in North eastern Madhya Pradesh.
It was past three, and we (Sachin and Syed Kausar Hussain) completed our road inspection-cum-driver interaction on the 40km stretch between the Adani Power plant and its captive coal mine at Seleri, which commenced around noon from his office in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh.
Aloo parantha and half an omelet for breakfast at nine in the morning were inadequate under the searing heat of May — truly an Indian summer.
Our sarati Amar parked the air-conditioned sedan in front of the dhaba, a few kilometers from the mine’s entry/exit gate.
Noticing Sachin, dhaba malik Jaiswal, sporting cut banian (or is it called sleeveless?), greeted him. They had known each other for quite some time.
“Dadaji, aayi ye!” the pencil-thin dhaba malik addressed me thus. Kausar had a hearty laugh. He has been privy to dozens of drivers and dhaba wallahs calling me “old man” during the recent cycle trip across the Gujarat highways.
On one occasion, he countered the chairman of an Ahmedabad-based 3PL vendor, saying: “Let me ask you straight: can you ride a bicycle for five kilometers? I bet you won’t. This man had done 80km per day!” Thanks, Kausar!
Anyhow, Jaiswal’s salutation did not pinch me. I know what I am.
“Sachin bol raha tha, aap sirf non vegetarian serve karte hai. Thoda dar lakta hai!” I told him.
Don’t worry. I am a pure vegetarian. Don’t even eat eggs. But then I prepare non-vegetarian stuff for my customers — mostly truck drivers carrying coal for the Adani Power plant. Not only me, my entire cooking team doesn’t have each non-vegetarian item, but they make them! Customer orientation. I am sure Jaiswal has neither heard of Harvard Business School nor management mantras spouted by fleecing fee seeking gurus! Yet, his customer focus, unmindful of his own cultural issues, was appreciable and salute-worthy.
Sachin standing next to me chuckled. He knew this. Sachin, again, is a hardcore vegetarian from Delhi. On previous occasions, he halted at this dhaba, and Jaiswal asked him to come after midnight when he would make vegetarian food for himself and his team. He was very considerate.
Jaiswal asked: Aap kya kayenge?
Kausar replied: roti, dal aur chawal. … Hmm. thoda salad.
Jaiswal: done. aap ke liye special aaj!
Next half hour, our food was ready and served. Our pet pooja wascompleted. Dal was extra watery. But tasty. Yummy!
Could I take a photo of him? He agreed.
The father of two kids living in the nearby village does good business.
As we were about to leave, he came out of the dhaba with folded hands and sought my blessings:
Dadaji, next time, I will serve you better vegetarian food.
Good willing and Sachin’s bosses sitting in Noida willing, I may cross Jaiswal’s path again. Maybe multiple times. Who knows?
Jaiswal was a unique character. He reminded me of the huge eateries frequented by long-haul truck drivers on the Delhi-Mumbai highway, again unique. Muslims own these joints, but they serve only vegetarian items.
I was lucky enough to eat at these joints several times over the years. Superb food. Try out next time when you are on NH48. Stark contrasting characters: a veggie serving non-veg items only and, a non-veggie serving veg items only.
