SURTI GUJRATI HOTEL OF SRINAGAR

“Rokadaa Dene ka Bhai . Cheque  Veck nahi lene ka . Cheque ka Koi Bharossa nahin . Woh Bank Ka Babu Baitha hai . Poochho oos ko agar hum Jooth Boltaa hai ”

said the Seth to his customer pointing towards me .I never knew his name . We used to call him Seth . He was gentle but firm. In money matters he never compromised . He always conveyed his message in a firm and loud tone . I had also noticed one of his  peculiar qualities  . He never looked at the face of his customers when they came to settle their bills .He simple looked at their purses and the notes brought out for payment  and some times he pulled the  drawer of his table  to  count his own notes .He was possibly from SURAT in western India . Ten tables with Sunmica tops kept in two ground floor shops  , a counter cum table for his own self and four Gujrati waiters who understood no other   language were all  that the restaurant had to display to prospective visitors  . The waiters  appeared to be poor and from rural background . Seth would not allow his waiters to intermix with his customers beyond what they were required to do as per their assigned duties .They were prompt in service and kept running from kitchen to the tables in the hall .The restaurant would serve Masala Dossa , plain Dossa , Idli , Wada , Sambhar and  vegetarian Gujraati meals in Thaalis . The Papad  and the pickle in the Thaali  was a speciality .

Everyone in Kashmir would call the restaurant  as SURTI  Hotel .My friends in the bank especially Basharat fazili , Tej Dhar , A n koul , Showkat Ahmed , Ghulam Jeelani ,Arvind Mujoo , Ashok Padroo and many more would  frequent this place . We  also saw Prof Waheed , Advocate Ashok Bhan  , Prof Riyaz Punjabi  ( Two or three times only )  and almost all the medical representatives stationed at srinagar  eating Dossa quite often in this restaurant. Sometimes we  would  order for vegetarian  Thaalis as well.Groups of young men , Tourists , college students , lawyers , Professors and a couple of theatre personalities would also  frequent this restaurant to eat Dossa as thin as a sheet of paper with Mouth watering chutneys and Sambhar . I was always fascinated by the style and  professional attitude of the Gujrati  proprietor  . He had learnt some kashmiri words also . “WAARAI CHHUSS ”. He was popular in the area .Though firm , he was fair in his dealings   and  a straight business man who had ventured to do business traveling  all the way from Surat to srinagar  .The restaurant would close for winters from November to April and during this time the seth would go to Surat. Many shopkeepers in the adjoining Lambert Lane would also come to eat Dossa at this restaurant.Tea and coffee was also served in small cups . We would take three small cups of tea  which practically were equivalent to one standard cup of tea served at other places.

 I was pained to see the plight of this restaurant when I visited the area  recently. Gutted and turned to garbage . Dossa is now sold at many places in the city .Enjoy this brief write up along with a view of this gutted Restaurant spiced with kashmiri  poetry of Rassa javidaani ( A kashmiri poet from Bhaderwah ).

Agar su iyahem Me Dil Zaa Raalhunn – 

Me daed Balhunn me Ghoasse Tselhunn,
Baa Zunh Ti Vanhuss na kyaa Tse Korthumm-
Agar me Vananuss ti Vaar Iyahe.
Me trov partaav tussindh Khayalunn –
Tsetith Hechim na zeeth raat Hijrich,
Naathai Ganzarhukh Ba Raet Raatuss –
Me Tarakhunn Hund Shumaar Iyahe .
Ye Maagh Soorith Te Phalgnuss munz –
Agar Su Myon Toth Yaar iyahe
( Rassa javidaani )


Should he visit this way again ,
Two hearts shall meet and
All my sickness shall find cure ,
All complaints shall vanish.
Never shall I tell him what he did to me ,
Even if I get an opportunity to lodge my complaint.
Tonight his memory is engulfing me ,
How can this long night of separation be lived?
Now that I could pass time by counting stars over my head,
Alas none can count them too.
After this month of Magha ,
Or in the month of Phalguna ,
Could it so happen Love ,
that you visit this way.

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.