The guesthouse dining room

I love to eat, and overall the food has been wonderful and adventuresome.  It has not been too spicy for me. I am told that South Karnataka food is relatively mild Indian food because the weather is hot year-round.  Or perhaps living in Louisiana in the 1980s prepared me well. 

Each region of India is distinct and it shows in the dining room where visitors from all over India eat.  While eating in the guesthouse for two and a half weeks I have seen two Indians ask what was just put on their plate because they were completely unfamiliar with the traditional food served here.  And, except for the right hand rule, there are variations in how to eat food that depend on region and upbringing.  One older gentleman uses a spoon as much as possible at breakfast.  Curd (yogurt) is drunk from the individual serving cup, eaten with a spoon, or poured over rice (my favorite).  One younger man passes on the local first course of chapatis (flat wheat bread) and curry and proceeds to the second and third courses of soups on a mound of rice.  During breakfast some put the coconut curry in a shallow cup; most of us put it on our plate. 

I usually eat breakfast and dinner at the guesthouse and lunch at the campus food court.  I will have future posts on breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Mr. and Mrs. Vitlapur run the dining room.  Here they are in the lobby, where tea is served after breakfast and, if early, guests wait for the meal.  Kannada and English newspapers are provided. She is the cook and usually keeps to the kitchen and does not interact with guests.  He runs the guesthouses and serves.  They do not speak much English but are very nice.  Normally they do not serve on Sunday but I arrived Saturday night and they cooked breakfast and lunch for me my first blurry day.  If I show up during the day to fill my water bottle I am offered a cup of tea.  He showed me the Kannada article about my talk in Mangalore. 

This is the dining room.  Sometimes it is full, other times it is just me.  It is usually quiet -- when served it is time to eat.  Metal cups, purified water, spoons soaking in purified water, sugar, and pickle (hot and salty condiment) are on the table.

This is the room behind the glass in the dining room photo.  To the left is the sink to wash your hands if not washed prior to coming for a meal.  After the meal the right hand is washed off here.  Every eating place has a facility for hand washing.  Serving spoons and pots are handled with the left hand by guests.  Mr. Vitlapur serves with his right hand.  The tap water is not potable, but purification machines like the one to the right are in most campus buildings and provide safe drinking water.