Atithi Devo Bhava

If you have been to Rajasthan and not seized the opportunity to taste the native gastronomic delights and their hospitality, then you have definitely missed out on something. A Especially for the benefit of tourists, some outlets organise theme dinners where along with authentic Rajasthani dinner, they also flaunt their ancient traditions and culture

Mira Pawar On my trip to Rajasthan with friends, we had the opportunity of visiting a resort in the outskirts of Jodhpur about 10 kms from the main city, where theme dinner was a regular evening event. This ethnic fantasy of funfair is developed tastefully with state-of-the-art infrastructure to captivate the visitors over theme dinners. One important factor that has been a major concern to tourist is the transportation but fortunately, we did not have any trouble with this aspect at all. The auto rickshaws are very easily available and without indulging into haggling for rates. Three passengers can very easily fit in the auto, the only quandary was climbing into the auto as its height is more than what one would encounter in Hyderabad or any other metro cities. The organisers ensure that before the guests sit down to relish the authentic Rajasthani cuisine, they are given an opportunity to build up their appetite and therefore a range of cultural activities are set up. One by one the guests visit these sections of amusement and keep going until the stomach is yearning for food. The first section we stopped was the tarot reading. Then, we headed towards the magic show area where some fascinating tricks took us back to our childhood - most precious years of our We wanted to stay on, but the folk music from the neighboring section was so inviting that we were compelled to leave the magic world for the music world.

The music section had men with typical Rajasthani attire and turbans playing folk music and the women performing Ghoomar dance to the mesmerising folk songs. It was such a delight to watch the dancers swaying effortlessly with elegance and stance. On seeing us tapping our feet, the dancers stepped down from the dais and invited us to join them. The offer was irresistible so we got on to the dais and danced along with the dancers until we were exhausted. Surprisingly, the dancers continued dancing at the same pace without any signs of exhaustion. After the Ghoomar dance, we were famished. We passed by kids taking ride on elephants and camels and there was a horse carriage also that offered rides. Finally, at the entrance of the dining hall, we were greeted in the traditional Indian style with aarti. We were then escorted to the dining hall to gorge on the gastronomic Rajasthani thali. The menu comprised of sweets, roti, Gatte ki Sabzi, Kairsangri with ghumatia ki sabzi, kadi, daal, various types of chatni and finally the butter milk. As the tradition would have it, they keep serving until you gesticulate to stop. The adage "Atithi Devo Bhava' fitted in so well at the theme dinner that it not only satisfied our appetite but also perked up our soul.