The festival season in India gives birth to a lot of seasonal entrepreneurs. As the sampling of various festival delicacies is a very important aspect of the celebrations, food stalls in high footfall areas are highly coveted. The question may arise - aren’t all festival locations extremely high footfall areas? Well, yes and no. There’s a strategy involved.
The food stalls that are a bit far from the main attraction - the pandal (Hall) where the deity is kept - see a higher number of customers because people are often arriving at that destination from another one. Which means they are either a) hungry b) will be hungry on their way back.
The strategy is sound. Phuchkas (pani puris) being devoured with that oh-so-satisfying crunch, ghugni (the Assamese version of chole) bubbling merrily, frenetically-tossed noodles, steaming momos served on a plate too small, and my personal favourite, kathi rolls gently basking in the heat of a steel griddle. As you slowly, very slowly, make your way to the pandal, your conscience starts speaking to you in an urgent monotone - 'Eat something now you idiot, you never know how long it'll take to get inside the hall, have you noticed the crowds?' You are one of those conscience-heeding types. So you gently extricate yourself from the throng, and make your way to one of these pit stops of gluttony. Don't worry. No one's judging.
