I said I will wake up at 6 AM, go jogging, clean up home and all that, but well, you know what happens :P) I spoke to him for an hour. Knowing my cousin, the conversations are all peppered with : " I see..." " Okay..." Hmm..."Or, nothing else. Just silence which is super comforting. He is someone I call anytime I'm in trouble :) So, there I go, on another emotional trip. Now, that is not what I intended to write, did I?
Okay, let me get into the 'matter' (I remember characters in Tamil serials going: "Matter enna pa?" :P) So, matter enna na, as soon I get up, I need food, yes, I need to break the non existant fast with a hot cuppa kaaapi or strong tea (its easier to make tea when you live alone, better, easier to get your North East roomies to make some for you :P) Haan, so where was I? Ya, I need breakfast and tea/coffee. Preferably, a good South Indian breakfast sans Idlis will do. Idlis will also do in times of desperation, like today. So, I get up and realize for the nth time in the last two and a half years in this city that the option of breakfast is limited to hot vegetarian (I'm one) Biryani and Irani Chai (chai dripping with sugar, is thick and dark. Not my cup of tea, I'd say). What the hell!?!?
When I realized this first 2 years ago after a particularly bad night, no dinner, was sick through out the night kind of a night, I was wild. There is no concept of a kiosk, or a very Bangaloresque Darshini concept. The restaurants here with a kiosk are cheap, sidey with men leching at you standing in lungis and sipping their tea for over an hour. I felt let down, I felt horrible, that I could not just walk out of home/hostel, pay 10-12 bucks for a quick dosa, and filter kaapi (that too, 1/2) and walk out in the sunshine! Here, I had to eat bread (with nothing, no jam or butter or sometimes with them, which does not make things any better, frankly) if I woke up later than the mess timings which was ALWAYS the case on a weekend. Sigh.
Everytime I go to Bangalore on a vacation, I stare longingly at those Dosa-kaapi, 1 plate Idli-vada with steaming sambar places. The variety is awesome. They sell anything from the infamous 1/2 kaapi, to tea (rarely drunk in Bangalore, frankly), to hot, crisp, yummy dosas (all the 150 different types at that), idlis, vadas, upma, khara baath (a Karnataka specialty with rice and some veggies), pesarattu ( in some places)...and hot badam milk, with pieces of badam thrown in, plain milk. Just so good and hot, and just the thing to pep you up. This is such a part of a Bangalorean's life. You will see various restaurants like this dotting the city, sometimes, actually, most of the times, several on a road. They are invariably named 'something Darshini.' Like, for instance, Ganesh Darshini. Soooo homely, and so grounded, I say!
And there is a culture around this, you know. The people who come here have no class or caste. I have seen people walking, come in the biggest of cars possible. Nothing matters, its just good food, at very affordable prices, and very easily available throughout the day. These 'Darshinis' typically open at 7.30 - 8 AM in the morning and close as late as 11 or 11.30 PM. They are fairly clean and hygienic and the service is super-fast. The parcel section works better than any McDonald's place or assembly line I've known. The noises are so gratifying. It goes like this: "Ei, yeradu masaaaale paaaaarcel, innenu myaadam?" They've, of course, adapted themselves to the changing tastes of today's crowd which mostly eats out. While morning breakfasts remain the same, the lunches have an addition: North Indian Thali, or that quickie of a Chinese meal - one soup, Gobi Manchurian and some noodles or rice - all vegetarian, though. Or, a good ol' South Indian Thali with rice, 2 chapatis, sambar, rasam or saaru as it is known in Karnataka, curd or mosaru, pickle or uppinakaayi, some salt, some sweet and you are done, all within a mere 40Rs at the most! The same goes for dinner. However, in the evening, some Darshinis serve Chaat, and stuff like Bondas with the amazing kaapi again. I love the fact that you get food anytime, and at such affordable rates!
I have eaten in these places all my life :) and will always associate Bangalore with them. During those theatre club days, when we went looking for food at odd times, and when we had just 10 Rs in our pockets, when mom was not there to cook, Darshinis have been there, stood the stead of time to flourish and serve everyone, irrespective of caste, class, religion, gender. Yes, gender. There is this tendency among women, or atleast was, not to go out alone and eat at any restaurant. Darshinis shattered that myth. Women just walk up, order what they want, and since it is self-service, wait there, pick up the order, stand at one of those tables, even share it with some random men, eat up their choice of order, and leave for home/work. I've done this several times myself and felt amazingly liberated, irrespective of the time and what and how much I ate :)
We need to popularize the concept of these Darshinis throughout the country. They are an amazing business model, provides employment to loads of people, and of course, good, clean, fairly healthy, and very affordable food, something that everyone needs :) Whaddya think?
3 comments:
Hey could you post some pics of one of these Darshinis. This seems pretty neat. Its nice to know that in this day and age, places like these exist. And considering the B'lore culture, where other shops usually open around 9 a.m or so, these places seem to be teeming with the aroma of vegetarian south Indian cuisine as early as 730 a.m !
This is an age where people have started taking pride in paying American Dollar values for the subs at subways (which are pretty lousy for vegetarians....tastewise....). same goes for McDonalds. I think India also has a few KFCs. But the difference is that in US, these things cost dirt cheap whereas in India, these things are apparently being treated like royalties. Instead f franchises like McDonalds and KFC which spread obesity, heart attack and poor health in general with their products, franchises like the Darshinis mentioned here could provide an excellent solution for good INDIAN food at reasonable prices, IF they are as hygienic and presentable as Nandini claims them to be :) So it'll be nice to see some pics :)
In fact its a shame that the "modern-day' Indian population takes a sense of satisfaction and pride in paying the american dollar value for "american" products. I went to Sathyam theater and I purchased a medium popcorn, without dousing them in butter syrup that flowed from a tap like my nose during cold winters in North India (yuck....eh ? :))....followed by a can of Diet Coke....I was shocked that I got Rs 5 back after handing the vendor a 100Rupee note. That can of Diet coke which has
350 mL of water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate, "natural" flavors(yeah right !), citric acid and caffeine. The metal can probably costs 5 bucks. the rest of the stuff shouldnt cost more than 15 bucks (that would be an overestimation).....and yet its priced at a direct american dollar conversion at about 45 Rs. Acutally, thats greater than the American dollar value now that a US buck id priced at less than 40 bucks as i speak ! Why are we overpaying (45 bucks is a rip off!!!!) so much for this crap ?Why ?????????????????
Compare that with the popcorn taht cost 50 Rs. It was HUGE......me and my companion had a tough time finishing it ! It was heavy, filling, and yes, satisfying....
When will we learn to stop buying into these superficial fads.....diet coke, subway (where you apparently get a 150 Rs coke !!!!), McDonalds, KFC ...what happened to the good old dosa shops, idli stalls, barotta-kurma... what have they done to be gobbled up by corporate giants ????
Pnoasnidtiinvie :) Yes, I agree with you for a change on 'most' of the things you've said here! But again, its people like you who come here and wonder if you can find a KFC or a McDonald's :P So, there. About pictures, I can take you to one of these Darshinis, so why pics?!
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