In March 2024, my colleagues Shubham Kashyap, Aena Rawal and I were on the road to Dhampur again to resume the field work for our study titled Forty Years’ Development Saga of Dhampur: Growth Dynamics and Regional Transformation of an Indian Small Town. While I was busy introspecting about how we will go about our work in Dhampur, I was also noticing everything passing by, the towns and villages, factories, and green fields lush with sugar cane, wheat and mustard crops. Also, the towns and villages we passed through had the string of familiar roadside shops and services that straddle between rural and urban life styles, ranging from fancy clothes and shoe stores, fruit and vegetable stalls, chemists, mobile phone repairs, barbers and beauty salons, construction materials, furniture, household goods, agricultural implements, sweet shops, tea shops, biryani joints, and restaurants also displaying pictures of fast food (burgers, momos and noodles) along with the usual Indian dishes on their boards. 

As we approached Gajraula town, I started noticing a few pizza places. Having looked closely, I found that none of these were popular pizza brands I was familiar with, such as: Domino’s, Pizza Express, Pizza Hut, La Pino’s, US Pizza, Chicago Pizza, Papa John’s, Oven Story and Slice of Italy. There were names like Pizza Slice, Pizza Nagari, ONO Pizza, Roms Pizza, etc. Going around Dhampur town, we came across several more such as: Biggies Pizza, Pizza Uncle, Pizza Point, Pizza Universe, Friends’ Zone Pizza, Hunger Pizza, Delicious Pizza and Shambhu Pizza.

We preferred to have lunch in a restaurant while being out and about the town as we always had dinner at the Eurasia Palace hotel where we were staying. The numerous street food carts selling popular foods like Parathas, Biryani, Chhole Bhature, Momos and Burgers didn’t appeal to us. There were only two multi-cuisine restaurants in the town that could meet our expectations of hygiene, ambience and choice of dishes, namely the Indian Corner and Gulmohar. Hence, we often ended up in one of the pizza places for a change. To our surprise, we found that the pizza toppings were very similar to what we would find in pizzerias in Delhi and other large cities, and not drastically customised to better suit  an Indian small-town palate. Some of the larger pizza places also had home delivery services, such as Biggies Pizza, Pizza Uncle and The PizzaBite. The only difference was that none of these restaurants offered thin crust pizzas. However, the price of pizzas was about half the price of what one would pay in well-known pizza joints like Dominos in larger cities, which is understandable keeping in mind the local affordability levels.

Remembering my student days, when going out to eat always meant going to a Chinese restaurant, I wondered what would explain the penetration of pizzas into the Indian small towns and the countryside, as the only international cuisine that is so visible?

After trying out several pizza places and talking to some of the restaurant owners, I came to understand that there are a number of explanatory factors for the popularity of pizza places in a small town like Dhampur.

First, Pizza joints have not replaced the conventional food outlets. As is the case in many smaller towns and cities in India, sweet shops also offering a range of savory delicacies continue to be the go-to places for take-aways in Dhampur as well. Khairati’s sweet shop located in Bhagat Singh Chauk is about two hundred years old and is the most popular of such sweet shops. Bhagat Singh Chauk in the center of the town also has many snack vendors, where people stop to take a bite while shopping in the market, or just go there for a quick snack. The most well-known of these is about a hundred years old Jain Kachari Wala who specialises in selling singhada (water chestnut), lobia beans and moong dal kachari (A slow cooked creamy paste served with a chunk of butter, green chutney and sweet chutney). Virendra Saini, the third-generation owner of this business, opens this shop at 6.00 am and closes by mid-day. Other food carts continue to serve this dish along with other snacks like chaat, samosa, kachori and aloo tikki through the day. In addition, there are several well-known samosa, pakora and kachori shops in the main bazaar street and at key points such as: near the railway station, bus terminal and Nagina Chauraha. But none of these joints offer dine-in facility for a relaxed eating out experience.

Second, With economic development and more disposable incomes in hand, particularly in India’s urban areas, eating out has become the most prominent lifestyle changes. Newer and more eating out options are coming to meet the preferences of the clientele of different income groups.

Third, There is also an undeniable role of media and advertising in promoting various kinds of cuisines that prominent social influencers in large cities are preferring to eat. Easy access to the internet also makes it possible for young people in small towns to learn more about these new kinds of cuisines.

Fourth, Pizza joints meet the aspirations of the younger generation, who think it is fashionable to eat in a fancy restaurant where they can chill out with friends and take pictures. These restaurants also provide a safe space to young men and women who can spend time together without social scrutiny.

Fifth, Easy acceptance of its structure and taste, as in a way it is similar to the most widespread North Indian staple roti-sabzi, albeit with a bit of tomato sauce and cheese. And, you can make it spicier to match your taste by adding jalapeno toppings and chili flakes. Pragmatism of eating it with hands with no fear of being frowned upon for not using unfamiliar cutlery like fork and knife is an additional appeal.

Sixth, As mostly vegetarian pizzas are being offered in Dhampur, there is no risk of not knowing what kind of meat one is eating, which makes these places equally popular with people from both of Hindu and Muslim communities.

Finally, we can say that the popularity of pizzas is one of the indicators of the widespread lifestyle transformation taking place in an aspirational small town like Dhampur.

Pictures by Pushpa Pathak