When my parents used to travel from Ranikhet to Delhi in the late 1970’s, on their motorcycle or scooter, they used to stop over at Giani Dhaba in Gajraula, Uttarakhand. From what I’ve heard, the dhaba used to serve mutton and chicken etc. in those days. It does not serve these options nowadays. although, you can ask for some form of eggs to be served.
We stop over for the paranthas. Tandoori paranthas stuffed with potatoes or a combination of potatoes and onions, or cottage cheese ( paneer ) and some other options. Invariably, most of us end up ordering the potato and onion combination with curd and lots of raw onions. And extra extra butter.
This time around, not only did we stop over at Giani Dhaba both ways ( Delhi to Ranikhet and Ranikhet to Delhi ), we also asked for paranthas to be packed so we could eat them once we were back home in Gurgaon. Yummy!
The restaurant ( yes it’s a restaurant now ) has added an air-conditioned section as well. It’s hygienic and has decent washrooms for both women and men.
ABOUT THIS PERSONAL PROJECT
I shot multiple frames to construct this square, large-format plate of the salt-shaker on the table. The final image file is larger than 4 GB in size.
My parents and I have been going on an annual vacation to Ranikhet for about a decade now. I always carry my DSLR but wasn’t feeling too inspired this time around. Of course, that triggered an idea and I decided to focus on a few subjects that personify and / or represent Ranikhet for me and the family.
I ended up calling this series “Vacation Objects” and turned it into a personal project.
All images are shot in the same format and I’m writing brief descriptions to explain why the subject is significant.
In retrospect, now that I’m back in Gurgaon, I can see that I missed a few relevant subjects. Hopefully, there’s always next year.
This is the first image from this personal project series that I’m writing about. To see all, as they are published, #NAINAxRANIKHET #VacationObjects can be visited.
For all Ranikhet photo features on this blog, #NAINAxRANIKHET link can be visited.
Also from Giani Restaurant, Gajraula.
