When we turned into explorers in our own city!

So this is a usual July Sunday. Very humid and not a delightful day. I and my cousins decide to visit a cafe, the oldest one in the Pink City. Breaking the promise of being there at breakfast, we finally manage to be at lunch. The road is deserted. Of course, who would be out in this unpleasant weather. The cafe is cozy without ACs, to which my nephew makes a face. I try and tell him that this cafe has been there for over a half century, a favourite place to hangout for all senior journalists. No doubt, the place had its charm with those old coffee posters on the wall. With a slight appearance of vintage Irani cafes of Mumbai, Indian Coffee House existing on MI Road, Jaipur for over a half century has been a place for bureaucrates, journalists and politicians. 

The prices are so affordable that we ended up up ordering humongous amount of food on our table. The place is known for its South Indian food and those crispy dosas served with sambhar with slight hing ka tadka in it (asafoetida) did the magic. The keema dosa on the menu is non-vegetarians favourite. But my favourite was the French Toast, tasted bit like homemade malai toast. The nephew was savouring his plate of paneer pakoda whereas my niece is quite a fussy eater. But she did polish off soft idlis along with a glass of mango shake. 

After a delightful lunch, we headed for the Walled City and stopped at heritage shop of Kachories ‘Khunteta Kachoris’ located at Kishanpole Bazaar and packed a few spicy balls for our evening snack. It’s one of the oldest shops, specialising in making scrumptious savouries. I recently being out of the job has suddenly turned me into an explorer. I want to closely observe the city, I grew up in. 

We’d agreed to drive till Jal Mahal located on Maan Sagar Lake, Amber Road. Turning into tourists in our own city was fun. Moving ahead towards Jal Mahal comes ‘Maharaniyon ki Chatri' on the right. The most unexplored place in the city. It was the cremation place for royal ladies maintained by the Museum Trust of The City Palace, Jaipur. I admit, it was too hot to stroll in that place and we were the only visitors. The place was calm, full of old world charm. The silence was uncomfortable, but I feel, the place needs more visitors for its historical value. 

After a brief photo session, we headed back home but not before stopping at our favourite ice-cream shop.