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Shah Rukh Khan winks from the wall as you bite into your chicken curry and wash it down with champagne, your eyes glued to the latest Bollywood blockbuster. You’re at Bollywood, the Indian restaurant in the Alps, 3,500 metres above sea level.
The owner, Urs Zumbrunn Perren, a huge Bollywood fan, didn’t even think of another name when he opened his Indian restaurant in this playground of the world’s rich and famous seven years ago. "I have tried to create a mini-Bollywood in my restaurant with posters of Bollywood movies, Bollywood music and films. We serve pure Indian food here," gushes Perren. So now you can sample the steamed rice, dal, vegetable and chicken curries, with champagne and Swiss chocolate, as your eyes roam around the 100-odd posters from Bollywood and regional Indian cinema before settling on the giant screen that is showing tonight’s Hindi movie. Strains of Bollywood music waft in the background, and with film reels hanging from the ceiling the place gives you a feel of a film studio. "It is my tribute to Bollywood cinema and great Indian food," says Perren. There are plenty of other ‘devotees’ ready to worship at the same shrine. The restaurant hosts about 1,000 foodies and Bollywood fans every day. "Not only among Indians, the restaurant is also popular with tourists coming to Jungfraujoch from across the world," adds Perren.
"Be it an Indian, Chinese, Japanese or American, everyone loves Indian food," says head chef Saheb Singh Chauhan. "I feel good when I serve Indian food to the visitors. We try to serve authentic Indian food and are trying to popularise Indian cuisines among tourists." This native of Dehradun has been working in the restaurant for around seven years. His colleague Rajinder from Punjab, who does part of the cooking, says: "I love to entertain people with Indian food, especially in a restaurant at this great height. It gives me a sense of patriotism ." Honeymoon couple Priya and Abhijit Banerjee were pleasantly surprised to find Indian food at Jungfraujoch. "It was a delight to eat Indian food, along with Bollywood cinema all around us. The food is great and so is the ambience," claims Priya. Surrounded by snow-covered peaks of the Alps, Jungfraujoch is one of Europe’s most attractive excursion destinations. Around 5,000 visitors travel every day to this place, known as the "Top of Europe". They go up the famous
funicular Jungfrau Railway, a true masterpiece of technology built
between 1896 and 1912 by Swiss rail pioneer Adolf Guyer-Zeller. —
IANS
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The
staff of around 50 seems to be getting worked off their feet.