For politicians jumping ship like there is no tomorrow in the season of elections, a small and nondescript momo and thukpa (noodles) joint in the Darjeeling hills may serve a lesson in fidelity.

Neeni Aji Ko Dokan (Neeni sister’s shop), situated near Darjeeling Motor Stand, remains largely unknown to tourists but ask any Darjeeling resident for directions and they will not fail you.

Among the shop’s patrons is P.S. Tamang, the chief minister of Sikkim, whose Sikkim Krantikari Morcha is in alliance with the BJP. Tamang used to be a regular at the restaurant and knows the lane like the back of his hand.

To the uninitiated, the shop only sells beef momo and thukpa. Tamang’s political ideology, or maybe compulsion, does not seem to match his taste buds.

Momos being prepared in the restaurant kitchen

“When in Darjeeling, he does visit our shop. At times, he orders our momos to the hotel he checks into. However, since swearing in as chief minister (in 2019), he has not visited our shop,” says Tashi Gyalpo, 40, the owner of Neeni Aji Ko Dokan who comes from an apolitical family.

Tamang probably discovered the place during his stay in Darjeeling in his younger days.

It is the quality of momo and thukpa that attracts people to the restaurant and not marketing gibberish. Neeni, who was a friend of Tashi’s mother, used to always focus on quality, he said. Neeni died about two decades ago.

The blink-and-you-miss restaurant is located on the ground floor of Rai Building in Darjeeling. There is no signage on the shop, nothing to suggest that it is a restaurant. It is neither spick or span nor “modern”. It has wooden cabins where not more than 20 people can sit at a time, but the shop sells more than 1,000 momos a day.

Politicians would do well to listen to Tashi when he speaks about how the shop has stuck to traditions and not gone looking for greener pastures.

“We still prepare our momos as we did in the past. We probably are the only restaurant in Darjeeling that makes momos on firewood. We want to stick to our past, stick to quality and provide the same taste,” Tashi says.

The wooden cubicles for guests

Many customers say momos prepared on firewood have a “distinct taste”.

“So is their achaar (pickle), which is hot and blends well with the steaming momos,” says Mohan Lama, a regular.

The shop is run by four staff members and two of Tashi’s family members — Nima Norbu, 74, and Mingma Lamu, 72.

“We serve the common people of Darjeeling. Our customers are common people from the town, from villages and we fear that if we change our looks, they might be overwhelmed and might feel uncomfortable,” Tashi says.

Four pieces of beef momo costs Rs 50, so does a bowl of thukpa.

Gorkhas are predominantly Hindus, some follow both Hinduism and Buddhism. In Darjeeling, beef is not anathema among locals.

“We are known in most villages of Darjeeling. Even if they don’t recognise our faces, the moment we say we are from Neeni Aji’s place, they recognise us,” says Tashi.

Darjeeling has been sending a BJP representative to the Lok Sabha since 2009. The party has promised a “permanent political solution” to the statehood issue and tribal status for 11 hill communities in its election manifesto.