KAVERI - PURE VEG!!!

It has been over a year in Pune now, and a city that I once thought I would never be able to live in, has now become a home. My initial days were pretty filled with boredom, a conscious choice of avoiding roommates from either the company or the college. An apparent crave for solitude, a space my own. Over the days and months, I slowly got used to the crowd here. From a dingy in Baner, that leaked in the rains and melted in summers to a much more livable flat at Sus Road. Though the place was so much better than me, the monthly rent was killing and compelled me to make numerous sacrifices.

The flat I lived in was a pretty new one. The building itself wasn’t yet complete and there was always a hammer or tong going off, to make one realize the incomplete construction. It was one of those days that KAVERI PURE VEG was started. The place itself was discovered during one of our sojourns to find some ‘Chakna’ – a key ingredient in any drink session. The inauguration was supposedly a low-key affair and was given a miss. Checking the place immediately, we realized the cook was yet to arrive and as such, nothing was available. However, contrary to our normal and natural behavior, we persisted and reached again the very next morning. To our delight, our patience was answered with some crispy Dosas, steaming Idlis and ended with Tea. Now, Pune has multitude of restaurants, Dhabas, Thelas, u name it. However, there is yet a place to be discovered that serves decent tea, till Kaveri was started i.e. The Hotel seemed like a manna from up above, especially for a lazy bachelor, to find such good food in one’s basement is nothing short of a miracle.

It wasn’t until a few days that we noticed the Hotel owner, at first we took him to be another customer, an elderly person, sitting alone in a corner table, munching some Idlis. It was only when the time to pay came up that we realized he was the owner himself. And so our tryst with Kaveri had started, and developed over time. From an initial group of just two to a group of over half a dozen lazy laggards would descend upon Kaveri at any time of the day. Being the first and most valuable customers, we were always treated differently and to be frank a little bit pampered as well. Uncle was always at his joyous best, always delighting us with the day’s top news and his in-depth analysis and views.

It was during one such visit, that I got to see a different side of Uncle. He was as usual his cheerful self, however, a bit more restrained than other days. Looking at Uncle always amazed me, with his energy and the constant smile on him. Even as the day wearied on, he remained the same. But what was a 70 year old man doing, running a restaurant; while, he should have been playing with his grand children. Today I was determined to get this puzzle solved. Uncle too seemed to be in a loquacious mood, and relatively free from work.

Mr. Naik, was from a marine background having worked for a shipping company for over 30 years. Having seen the fight for independence at a very young age; he like all other Indians of the period had seen some of the worst of times from Partition, to communal riots to the struggle for food. Having been the only educated son from his family, he ended up where most of India, strives to reach and some actually do, the financial capital “Mumbai”. Guess it was fate or the call of the sea, but the Konkan born Naik ended up in an Italy-based Marine company. Coming from an age where job hopping was not predominant, he spent his entire career in the same company. From a small time clerk to retiring as a consultant, he had seen various ups and downs during his illustrious career. From his accounts I gathered that he was big time into drinking and playing with his friends. It was only once late in his life, when his son-in-law saw him in an unrecognizable condition, that he decided to stay away from liquor and has been that ways ever since.

He never believes in saving too much money and enjoys living the good life. Money according to him is to be enjoyed to saved and left to rot till ones death. He had seen instances of the rags-to-riches-rags story and enjoys recounting those phases. I couldn’t help asking him, as to why he was working even now; risking all the savings he had to start this restaurant. His only answer was, “I love to work, that keeps me alive and I couldn’t possibly stay dead.”

During the various interactions with him, I was led to believe, that its not his age or monetary condition that makes him wake up early in the morning and keep working till the wee hours of the day, but the need for action and staying independent. As he once said, “Its not important to ensure that your work gets recognized or praised, but, to self realize and bask in the glory of having done something, something different is what a person can cherish and relive those moments for the rest of his life.”

Even today, while the Dosas and Idlis are devoured, it is the daily interactions with him that really add the spice to our daily breakfast. Breakfast at KAVERI PURE VEG!!



- AspenRocks!!!