A warm journey on the darjeeling express

“I only wish to be remembered for the lives I have changed and for the path that I have lit for others. That is what I want my legacy to be,” said Asma when she came to our table. With her bright blue silk kurta and comfy tennis shoes, she thanked us for coming to Darjeeling Express and proceeded to tell us the story of her restaurant and the pride she takes in starting a “collective” where the kitchen is run by women -housewives- who come from various villages in India and Nepal.  

We sat right in front of the kitchen counter. We could half-see the chefs, who were mostly hidden by piles of plates, but we could feel their intense movement and could imagine how busy they were as a steady stream of good looking food flowed out of the kitchen. The lunch menu was not overwhelming but it was still hard to decide what *not* to order because everything sounded delicious. In fact, we chose to eat during lunch rather than dinner so that we had more flexibility about which food to try instead of having a prix fixe thali. We chose dishes that we thought would be hard to get while wishing we had an extra stomach to eat the rest. 

We started with cocktails - “Darjeeling old fashioned” for me and “calcuttarita” for Gayatri.  I was delightfully surprised by the presentation of the old fashioned. I was presented with a glass covered with a wooden coaster. The barista lifted the coaster gently to reveal a dramatic cloud of smoke. This was probably the most memorable old-fashioned I have had .G’s calcuttarita was refreshing with a hint of a pepper-y taste. 

Chili cheese toast, momos, tangra prawns, calcuttarita, and darjeeling old fashioned

 

Next we had chicken momos, the most outstanding “tangra prawns” with a delicate garlic and chili flavor, and chili cheese toast that came with a sweet and hot chutney. This was followed by kosha mangsho - goat curry - so good that the rice disappeared quickly as we ate heaping spoons, with G going after the bone marrow, which we both shared. We ate this dish while cooling off our palate with this beautiful pink beetroot chutney. We could not leave without trying one of the desserts - tough choice between kheer (spiced rice and milk) and bhapa doi (steamed yogurt). We opted for one we had not had before and were curious about, so we chose bhapa doi. When the dessert came in a beautiful terra cotta vessel topped with a small rose petal, we were instantly in love. The caramel, and delicately sweetened yogurt left a lovely feeling on our palate. We finished every little delicate morsel, scraping the bowl for the last little bit.  

Beetroot raita, basmati rice, and kosha mangsho

As we were finishing our dessert, G caught a glimpse of one of the chefs behind the piles of plates, who gave her a big smile. G got up to say thank you and spoke to them in Hindi. Judging from the bits and pieces of Hindi I can understand, G was expressing her gratitude for the meal we had, told them that we were teachers from Chicago, and that I also liked the food. I was not sure if I should also get in the conversation but that was my cue so I also thanked them.  One of the women thought I was Nepali and when I said I am from the Philippines, she gave a beaming smile and said “we are all the same!” This same woman reminded me of Dada - the woman who took care of me when I was small so when I saw her, I was comforted by her giggles and energy. I asked her what she cooked and she said something that pointed to the fact that they all help to cook every dish. She was especially tickled when I said one of the few phrases I know in Hindi - "Apse milke bahut khushi hui" (it is a pleasure to meet you). That always seems to make people giggle!  As we spoke,  I could not help but notice the kitchen behind them - a busy, intense, and yet joyful vibe. 

Bhapa Doi

We probably could have sat in Asma’s place for a long time. No one rushed us. And no one seemed rushed to leave either. But when it was finally time to go, we asked Assma if we could take a picture with her and the chefs. We saw a a group of people just taking the pictures of the chefs without asking their permission first and we were mindful not to do the same.  We were surprised when one of Asma’s team members motioned to ask us to come with him quick - and before we knew it, we were in the kitchen! Asma rallied the chefs to gather and take a picture. They all came - some of them gave us warm hugs as if we had known each other for a long time. I was in awe that we were standing in the kitchen and that I was meeting all these chefs.  In the commotion of the moment, Gayatri and I got separated. Asma kept motioning me to come to the front of the photo but I was more focused in making sure the chefs got to the front of the photo. We were where we wanted to be - nestled in the warmth of the hands and hearts who prepared our meal. Indeed, our bellies were full but it is the generosity we felt while we were here that will remain in out hearts for a long time. 

Somewhere in our conversation, Asma recited a stanza from Nobel laureate's Rabindranath Tagore's poem/song "Ekla Chalo Re" that has been her guiding life philosophy:

(translated from Bengali):

if nobody holds up the light, if no one shows you the light

if everyone shuts their doors upon you in the dark night of the thunderstorm

then by the very lightning set your ribs on fire 

and keep lighting the path alone

if nobody responds to your call, then you move forward alone

 

Asma and the beloved chefs of Darjeeling Express

Yes, indeed.  The journey to fulfill a vision is often a solitary and painful endeavor. But you keep going because you know that the vision is not for or about you but for a future that is larger than you.