Seva Cafe

Doesn't the name sound interesting ??
Seva.. like someone's doing some Seva fer you by serving food or something to eat.

Ten of us, ended up at Seva Cafe after a nice day of unconferencing (Read - Barcamping) at the CIIE building in IIMA, for dinner.

believe me, its been the best-est food I've ever had all my life. Well, not cus its cooked well or made in a clean and hygienic place.. but cus they make and serve it with so much love and care, that dude, u will eat more than what u actually eat.

we started out with a round of Sweet corn soup, followed by some 10 plates of Handva - a Gujju dish made outta some Flour and pan fried.. then came in 10 plates of daal baati (ummm, my ever so wish of havin one was fulfilled after almost 3 yrs !).. then some more handva... and lots of sev puri.. ending it with Gaajar ka Halva (my first of this season)..

oh.. and yes, lot of live music, singing and dancing too.. in the middle of all these sev puris and handvas...

now you might be thinking, this is a regular feature at any resto, wats so special about Seva Cafe that this Crazy woman is blogging about it and making us read something which has been in the market all this while. ..

magar.... abhi picture baaki hai mere dost :)

the amazing thing abt this place is that this resto is run by a group of volunteers who cut, wash, cook the vegetables, bake chapatis, make the halva, decorate the place, set the tables, sweep the floors, clean the utensils, serve you food and all this, with a smile on their face. and only 50 lucky people are served every day.

price.. nothing.. ! you can walk off the cafe after eatin a sumptious meal for free !!
or else, be kind enuf to put in an amount as a gift in the envelope they offer post the meal.

the volunteer cud be anyone.. people like me and you, children at the slums, a teacher in the school, a foreigner travellin down to the country for some cultural experience...

and by the way, I've just came back after volunteering for some 4 hrs at the seva cafe.. trust me, it was fun.. washin dishes, crackin jokes with Bhaskar - the co-ordinator, talkin abt entrepreneurship and technology with the other volunteers at the cafe and eating food post work at 10:00 PM with some loud music and ending it with a love talk with all the other volunteers and puttin in a feedback for the cafe to the Cafe in charge - Sandeep.

have nevah in my lyf been served food with so much warmth and happiness.. Nevah !
Yeah, got some pampering from Calorie Care (my Lunch Walas) while i was at Nielsen, but only for a month or so..

its been a unique experience.. eating as well as the Seva-giri part of it...

And I am looking forward to some more Volunteering at this cafe with a set of friends who'd like to cook and serve people.