[continued from Part I]
But first we made a trip to a Khadi store where we spent a while looking at racks that held assorted herbal shampoos, hair gels, cleansing creams and bars of soap – all imbued with varied colours and fragrant odours. C picked up the stuff she needed after pointing out several of these to me. I too found one that interested me and bought it, making me the proud owner of a “mauri henna herbal sat” ayurvedic shampoo. 
I had heard about how Paharganj felt like it might have been built to order for backpacking foreign tourists. When we walked into the Main Market we saw stores selling clothing, hand-crafted jewellery, dingy artifacts, and home decorations, and shops that stocked scented oils and displayed their wares in colourful glass bottles arranged into a pyramid. The lilting sounds of the veena were emanating from some of these places. We also witnessed young boys running after fair-skinned couples asking them if they’d like to “get a room” at the tourist-friendly price range establishment they worked for. Names that were heard included ‘Hotel Cottage Yes Please’ and ‘Hotel Relaxxx’. Paharganj has numerous such places, not all of which are shady, where travellers on a budget can put up.
We walked through the lanes looking left and right at the the sights the place had to offer, all the while avoiding careening rickshaws and people running around carrying loads on their heads. Since I made it known that some of the baubles on display here and there interested me too, we went ahead and compared notes on bracelets and bead wristbands. We stopped to look at hairclips with a snake design, miniature decorative swords and shields, an owl pendant… I saw second-hand books, henna artists, morpankh fans made from peacock feathers, whips, exotic teas, and ittar too.
A selection of 'junk' jewelry and souvenirs
C told me there were also a few good eateries in the area. Next stop was Sam’s Cafe.
When you go to Sam’s, you go for the rooftop seating area. That is where you want to be.
We had walked up three flights of stairs chatting all the way and then we chose a table without a break in the conversation. It was only when we took our first breather a few minutes after settling into our chairs that we noticed a gleaming trumpet hung on the wall. This was the first thing that came into our heads:
The blue French horn
We didn’t take a photo then, but in actuality, the cafe looked more like this.
Sam's Cafe
Like others in the region, this joint offers a smattering of Middle Eastern food items apart from the usual. I observed some of the waiters around me communicating with tourists in spurts of stylishly accented English, and a couple of words here or there of what sounded like French and German they must have picked up over the years.
After a little brain-picking we decided to try a bit of pita bread served with hummus first. I am unable to remember clearly what the clinching factor was. Perhaps the fact that I was reminded of this guy‘s antics did ( ‘I regret to say’? ) contribute to an extent.
Hummus and pita bread
Hummus is a dip made with cooked and mashed chickpeas (chana) mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. It is a cornerstone of Israeli cuisine, and its consumption in Israel has been compared to that of “peanut butter in America or Nutella in Europe”. Apparently pita with hummus is a common lunch for schoolchildren. This much I did know, more or less, even before I had watched the admittedly very lowbrow Adam Sandler starrer I referred to above. But I found the way it pokes fun at the popularity of hummus in the Middle East quite amusing - characters eat it using random household items to scoop it up, and use it to brush their teeth, douse the flames of a fire, and even as a hair care product.
I came to learn later that modern Israeli cuisine is to an extent based around certain agricultural products listed as the Seven Species – special products of the Land of the Israelites - in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). These are - olives, figs, dates, pomegranates, wheat, barley and grapes. I might have added chickpeas to that list. Interaction with and immigration from North Africa and the interiors of Europe have also have significant influence.
Upon our selected spread’s arrival, I was informed by my considerably more experienced friend that the hummus needed more olive oil. This deficiency was promptly corrected, but I was told there was still something not quite right with what we got. Nonetheless I liked what I ate. And my taste buds were further regaled by the succulent chocolate pancake that we had as dessert. We stayed for a while, dispensing with considerations of time to soak in the surroundings and indulge in conversation.
Altogether it was an evening I really enjoyed. I hope it wasn’t too bad for C either.
