Biryani outlet plates up puri sabji in bhandara

Allahabad: On a chilly Monday morning, a pandal set up on MG Road in Civil Lines is drawing huge crowds. One might dismiss the gathering as one of the many bhandaras organised across the city on occasion of Mauni Amavasya but a closer look tells you a different story.
Wearing skull caps, a group of Muslim youth patiently serve visitors puri-sabzi, the aroma wafting through the city’s air.

What many don’t know is that these youth work in a local biryani shop ‘Eaton’. The shop has been popular among biryani lovers since the last few years.

Everyday Eaton staffers Ali and Pankaj get busy counting chicken pieces in each serving of biryani, but Monday marked a slight change in habit. Be it Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs, everyone is welcomed with a smile and a plate of puri-sabzi.

Their deftness in serving people is halted only by enthusiastic chants of ‘Jai Gange Maa’.

While Ali would run towards the road, requesting devotees to come to the stall for ‘prasad’, his co-worker Pankaj would serve them.

“I have seen so many bhandaras but this one is special as it shows me the true spirit of the Allahabad. I have heard about the city’s ‘Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb’ and that Hindu and Muslims share a unique bond of love here,” said RK Meena, a resident of Rajasthan who is visiting the Kumbh-2019.