It was late when we got out of Almora. Our plan was to stop for a day in Tanakpur before resuming our journey to Lucknow. In Lucknow, we spend two days, and I start thinking – from Mayawati to Binsar to Munsiyari to Almora – it is indeed a strange ride. Our driver, who mostly responds with a “-ji” is chewing a gum I gave him at the beginning of the day, and I am beside him, the navigator. Thankfully, out of all of us, my age and navigation power is closest to the acceptable age for pulling off stunts like this, so no one makes a ruckus over a jackass getting front row. From time to time, I am playing music – we have an odd mix of old Kishore Kumar, Punjabi Bhangda and one strange folder consisting mostly of music in a language or pitch I had not encountered much, and after a few shrieks we tell each other we are better off in the dark about that one. After a while, however, even the wonderfully mad Kishore becomes mundane, and we have already been traipsing across Uttarakhand in a big land rover with four sixty-plus and one of my kind for a week and half now.
We stop for the day at Tanakpur on our way to Lucknow. In the morning, it is decided we don’t eat much there, because the people at the KMVN guest house look at us with equal parts of horror and disinterest, and then calmly proceed to tell us that they are not sure how to accommodate us, since this particular guest house is rarely in demand. Indeed, it seems to us that we are the only ones in the property, and despite its size, its definitely in need of better care. The air conditioner kicks in after a slow start, and the room itself looks and smells like it is in need of far better care, but, undaunted, we make our way to the main tourist attractions of Tanakpur, and, a few Google Searches later, we also zero into our dinner spot.
We drive to the banks of the Sarda River. As a town, Tanakpur holds significance for its close proximity to Nepal – in fact, cross the river and walk ahead and you would find yourself soon in another country. We stand on the banks and watch the sun go down and there’s faint noise from the temple bells heralding the fact that we have just a few hours before everything shuts down. People here eat early, sleep early, but since we are there right after Dussehra, we are told there will be a little ceremony tonight – a Dussehra parade, to be precise.
Therefore, we go to the market quickly. My oldest aunt, who is a knitting enthusiast, expresses her wish to get some wool and make me a sweater, so we walk around, dodging stray cows and errant dogs and a barrage of people running (either towards or away) to get a good look at the parade, which is on its way, we are promised. We find a nice shop filled with a huge array of wool, and my aunt declares it to be of excellent quality, so we pick a few types of wool and go back to our lodge, so that we could collect the rest and eat dinner.
After a series of Google searches, I finally come across a fairly decent restaurant which also serves meat, because everyone in the team is clear about their wish to eat something that would not be vegetarian. A few minutes later, we aim for Raja Ram Chowk, which is, from what I see, the main street there. In retrospect, was I wrong and how! The Chicken Fry was not exactly what we had ordered – tossed with a good bit of onion and some sort of red chutney that did give it a lovely tang. The chicken itself was really soft and not of the broiler kind, from what I could tell. But the showstopper here was definitely the Butter Chicken, that came swimming in a orange gravy, topped with a rather generous chunk of butter, that was, at first, daunting, but once you tear off a bit of Rumali Roti and dip it into the buttery gravy, you would not question the decision anymore. The gravy is incredibly flavorful, with chunks of tender meat in a gravy laced with kasoori methi. The meat doesn’t overwhelm, but rather, accentuates the gravy, which is the star of this particular show. In fact, our group, which is usually slightly worried about health and carries a prescription featuring pepto-bismol and carmozyme, is invested enough to not leave even the last few drops of the generous portion of gravy. After a full and rather satisfying meal, we get up to pay, and the bill, for the five of us, is less than 500 rupees (October 2019), which is, if I may be so bold, a steal. The meal did come with a show. The parade went by the restaurant, and we do get a taste of it – earsplitting music, women dancing in circles, a pair of actors dressed as Ram and Sita sitting on a rather uncomfortable looking plasticky throne, and a sad Hanuman, who keeps on watching everything while sitting on his haunches – waiting for his turn while women whirl around him wearing colorful outfits. 
One Response
Great story!