Food Court at Ram Lila Grounds, Delhi
For those who don't know:
In short, Dussehra is a 10 day hindu festival celebrated to mark the victory of Lord Ram over the evil Rakshas Monarch, Ravan. The final day marks the death of Ravan at the hands of Ram.
Ram Lila is a play based on Ram's life, performed on different scales in almost every other colony in India. Its usually performed in parts over 10 nights.
Last year during Dussehra (on the 9th night), a very good friend of mine, Alok, forced me to accompany him to the Ram Lila Grounds near the Red Fort. Arriving at midnight, we were a bit late for the play but perfectly on time to savour some of the best street food that Delhi has to offer.
We park our car at Chandni Chowk and walk down to the grounds. A banner advertising the performance of 'Ram Lila'. Immediately after the entrance, we see the 'Ram Lila' stage. The final act of the play will be performed tomorrow. The empty chairs in front of the stage. Beyond the ground is where all the stalls are.
During the 10 day mela , hundreds of thousands of visitors throng these stalls.
We don't go with a typical 'starter'. We just dig into whatever comes our way. Alok starts with 'Pav Bhaji' and finds it better than the 'original' in Mumbai. I take a bite. I couldn't agree more... We move on to 'trying' a plate of almost everything...
'Aloo Chaat' - Fried potato wedges, sprinkled with spices.
The most popular street snack in Delhi - 'Tikki' or cutlets.
'Chilla' - made from chickpea flour.
'Veg Keema'! (Minced Soya Curry) One of the many fruit cum juice stalls. Gol Gappa.
Well...with the sheer number of people around you, this is what can happen to anyone...a case of 'mele mein bichhad gaye'...
An icecream...actually, a heap of icecream shavings topped with 'anaar' (Pomegranate). We tried all of this and also went for a double (at times, triple) helping of a few. There was also a lot of other usual fare (various chaats, kulfis...), but I guess we were done for the day.
On our way back to the car, we spotted these actors dressed as Goddess Kali and Lord Shiva, waiting for their entry on to the stage at another venue.
Children enjoying an open-air 'late night show' of the latest bollywood flick. In the premises of the Red Fort is a mela (fair) on in full swing (pun intended), with huge statues of Ravan & bros in the centre. Tomorrow, the actors playing Lord Ram and Lakshman shall vanquish Ravan's army. The statues will go up in flames. Good will triumph over evil. The legend of Ram will live on... 20 days later we'll all celebrate Diwali (the return of Ram to his home in Ayodhya, after a 14 year exile in the forest). Another festival, another feast!
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