A melting pot

You can also spot African salons and restaurants in the surrounding villages of Krishna Nagar and Arjun Nagar,which create an eclectic mix of cultures in these urbanised villages.

All these cultures coexist in harmony with most people from the North East vouching for the safety of this area. Bhutan Kitchen,owned by Pinky who is from Bhutan,offers dishes not only found in her country but also specialities of Nepal,Mizoram,etc.

“Typical food of Bhutan is usually boiled,spicy and made with cheese,so we serve datsi (cheese) with different vegetables and meat and also have khutta ko aachar (a pork dish) which is a Nepalese speciality,” she says. She took over a Mizo kitchen two years back and added Bhutanese specialties to the menu to cater to people from her country who have made Humanyunpur their home.

According to her,there has been a spurt of restaurants in the area in the last six-seven months,each catering to a different region or tribe of the North East. “This has not really been good for business. How will so many restaurants survive? But the Jats and Punjabis living in the area are very accepting. Many of them order from our restaurants,” says Pinky,who also runs a salon. Her husband,Tashi,runs a tattoo parlour in the same building. They came from Bhutan 16 years ago and lived in Goa. “We have been in Delhi for the last five years. My family owns a chain of restaurants in Bhutan so I always loved cooking,” Pinky says.

Zeena,who is from Manipur,recently set up Eat and Out restaurant. “I used to work as a lab technician in Safdarjung Hospital but wanted to start my own business. I usually cook myself but have recently hired a chef as I am busy with studies,” she says. She thinks it would take a while for her restaurant to start making profit as there is a lot of competition in the area.

Druk Restaurant specialises mainly in momos and sells them in nearby Vasant Vihar and Moti Bagh. “We have to find our own speciality to survive,” says Mingma,whose family is busy preparing momos in a small room with basic furniture which serves as the restaurant area.

It’s not just food,you can also buy western clothes and accessories here. Deepak,who runs Urbanatic Fashionwear,is from Darjeeling. “We feel safe here. People are good to us,” he says. He sells dresses,skirts,shoes and trendy bags.

Bharat Singh,60,who sits outside his house along with his wife,says they have no problem with the cultural mix in the village. “Sab araam se rahete hain. Koi problem hi nahi,” he says. Shukla,who works at the Singh Cyber Cafe,agrees. “Yahaan par kabhi koi ladai-jhagada nahi hota (There has never been any tension here),” he says.