Here Taste is a leveller

From kids to youngsters to old people, everyone is fond of having something chatpata and masaledaar nowadays. And it is the ubiquitous thelawalas who can satisfy your taste buds as people prefer eating on the roadside to relish these lip smacking stuff.

Even though these popular roadside eateries don’t provide any place to sit, still food lovers can’t resist the temptation to go the whole hog at these places. There are many roadside vendors in North Delhi who are much sought after by food lovers. And the names that come to mind instantly are Santa, Banta and Basanta in Rohini’s Sector-8. All these three are running their business since 1998, 1997 and 1982 respectively. Their names have become so popular that people from all across the city make it a point to enjoy the yummy chole-kulchas of Santa, Banta and Basanta. When asked what makes people come to them, the response was quite humorous, "We add a pinch of love to make our kulcha special," said the smiling Banta. From the well-dressed to the rickshaw pullers, one can see them all at the stall of Basanta busy enjoying the chole kulchas. "We all are equally doing well," said Basanta when asked about his competitors Santa and Banta.

If one compares the prices of all these three chole kulchawallas, there is a great difference amongst them in terms of the rates. From Basanta, you can get kulcha with butter for Rs18 and without butter for Rs15 while Banta sells butter kulcha for Rs15 and kulcha without butter for Rs12 while Santa sells these things almost at the same price. You can have the taste of these delicious kulchas anytime between 10am to 5pm.

"We prepare our own spices without any adulteration," said Santa. People are more quality-conscious so they don’t mind relishing their favourite kulchas on a roadside eatery.

Sunil, a financial executive, has been relishing Basanta’s kulchas for the past four years. Says he, "The taste of kulchas remains as delicious as it was four years ago when I tasted it for the first time." On the other hand, Shambhunath Gupta, an auto driver says, "I never miss out on the opportunity to visit Banta whenever I come to this area."

It is not only the tasty kulchas they offer, but also their politeness which makes it even tastier. "These people really know how to do their business," says a customer. Vikas Sharma, a student, says, "Being a resident of Sector 16 Rohini, I specially prefer to travel around 7 kms just to have a taste of these kulchas rather than eating the easily available kulchas next to my place.