My Day as a Waiter

It is Sunday once more and Ramona is writing these lines while sitting at Ammaji’s Ayurvedic Restaurant, sipping on a fresh lemonade and in between punching orders or taking out bills for guests who have come for lunch. This is how we work now – a big change in our lives!

Of course my day has changed as well and actually really drastically, as it is a completely different work that we do these days with our restaurant. There is something constant which I have kept for my daily life and that is my yoga practice. Just as before, Ramona and I get up in the morning and do our yoga exercise. It is the best start in the day and it keeps us fit and flexible. In the meantime, Yashendu usually gives his yoga class for our Ashram guests. Purnendu is the first one of us four at the restaurant, so that it can open at eight thirty in the morning.

After our yoga practice and once Apra is awake, washed and dressed, Ramona and I join our in-house guests at the restaurant. That’s how everyone nowadays has breakfast together there! The participants of our Yoga and Ayurveda retreats and also of our weight loss retreat – they get a tasty fruit platter! On days when there is no school, the children of our Ashram join us, too, and we all have breakfast.

Ramona usually takes her computer to the back office to work a little bit there and see what is going on at the Ashram. The three of us brothers look after guests at the restaurant and organize other necessary things in the meantime.

In the midday and afternoon, Purnendu, Yashendu and the two of us take turns in taking a midday break. We never used to take naps in daytime even though it is an Indian tradition to do so. I spent a lot of time in Europe and as most people don’t usually have the habit of sleeping in midday there, I never developed it. Now however, it gets late at night and so we feel the need for a nap in midday.

One of us however is always at the restaurant to welcome the guests. Of course we have our team members at the restaurant but we want to be there ourselves, too. At the same time, people appreciate us being there. We welcome guests, we ask them how they liked their meals and how the food was. It is something everyone likes: to be able to give feedback.

Finally, we are all back at the restaurant for preparing the evening time. And that’s when we always get full! An amazing success which we had not expected – and of course lots of work as well! For a few hours after our own dinner, we all get very busy with attending our guests. And I tell you: we all love it!

The evenings get late though and that’s how we fall into bed, often after midnight. But: we love our new job!