CHAI GARAM!!!

                                   

            Chai(The Tea), it is not just a word its an emotion most Indians crave for it irrespective of place and situation. Infact it is not just an emotion for people it is one of the best selling products in India.India is the stands second in tea production in the World after China. Different parts of India have their own culture and way of serving tea and also flavours of tea. West Bengal is famous for its Darjelling Tea, most of the good quality tea being exported very few are available for Indians.

            Being a bengali, I can clearly say a cup of tea to a bengali depicts ´bhar´(the clay cup) chai, for bengalis if you give them chai in clay cups that is the best chai for them. Scientifically clay cups are hygenic and it is good to have chai in a clay cup, also it is eco-friendly and cheap. A cup of tea costs around (Rs 3 - Rs 5). It is a tradition for most of the bengalis after a day work or after morning walk or after college group of friend meeting in a tea stall and enjoying tea in clay cups over a discussion of politics (as it seems to be the favourite topic for them), movies and their favourite game football clubs specially ´Mohun bagan´ and ´East Bengal´ generally named as ´adda´ which is a must for any bengali. Chai shop generally named as ´masir dokan´ or ´kakur dokan´, these shops are basically small and were run since years, owners being hardly educated. On an average a small tea shop in Kolkata makes a profit of around Rs 10,000/month. Quite enough to run their family.Few years back one of the minister in bengal said you ¨don´t need money for starting a business even a small chai shop owner in Bengal is earning enough to build house of 2 storey¨. There are even jokes when GPS fails to tell location ask a chai wala in bengal they can give the exact location with all probable details.

             When a bengali moves to other part of country for job or business purpose they crave for this chai in a clay cup. If you find a chai shop in other parts of India who serves chai in a clay cup it´s a promise you will find a bengali there be it any time of a day.

            Hyderabad has its own tradition for chai, when i came to Hyderabad asking a hyderabadi what is the best food you can taste in hyderabad first will be ¨chai hona kya?¨(do you want some tea?) Irani chai  with Osmania biscuit is legacy that has been carried down to India from Persia first to Mumbai then to Hyderabad. It is generally served in white ceramic cups and saucers sometimes according to the volume we name it 90ml chai. Irani chai has its special recipe which differentiates it from other chai. The original version being black chai, we have Indiansed that chai according to our taste as we generally do. Irani chai generally costs about Rs 10- Rs 12 and in resturants it will charge around Rs 65 to Rs 100. Irani chai is famous all over Hyderabad, but you will generally find this chai which is run by mohammadeans mostly, there are few shops around charminar, in scattered bakeries like Ghouse, Garden cafe!, or the legendary Paradise which is must who ever visits.After Irani chai the other most popular tea is Golden chai which is only found in Blue sea cafe. Like all other Indians for most hyderabadi they can never say no to Irani chai and with that Osmania biscuit is just the perfect combination. Hyderabadis can travel few kilometeres just to have some awesome Irani Chai. Since few decades this is one of the renowned and most popular business that has been carried on Hyderabad. An average targeted customer spends around Rs 200 to Rs 500 in Irani chai in a normal hotel. If you travel by train to Hyderabad another famous chai will be dip-dip chai. Other popular chai in Hyderabad a chai lover must taste are cutting chai(hot like an active vocano, beware!! too hot), double malai chai(irani chai with double malai, yummylicious), khadda chamach chai(so much sugar at the bottom that a spoon can stand- too sweet!! yet too tasty), sulaimani chai(tea with dates and peeper), pouna(loads of sugar and cream ,diabetes!!who cares).

                Not only in Bengal or in Hyderabad if you are travelling to any part of India by train the first thing you will hear is ¨Chai Garam, Garam Chai¨(hot tea, hot tea). On every railway station you can find kids running with a kettle in hand or a bunch of cup of tea when ever the train stops. Selling a tea in India may look like small business but it is one of the best selling items in India with an uncountable no. of targeted customers. Where the customers are equally satisfied as the sellers. It is a business which can be needs a low budget startup and with a good return. It is affordable to all class of people. In this business not only the two way interaction happens, we build relations and we acquire knowledge. For an enterprenuer it is a good opportunity to make take this business a different platform. A small scaled business to atleast a medium scale business.  

                                

                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                              -Travelling a business
                                                                                                                               By- Debopriya Gupta

DOSA- THE INDIAN PAN CAKE!!

                        

 Dosa and students can team up so well. Student never says no to a dosa . Just before you enter your college butter dosa, paneer dosa, cheese dosa, 70mm dosa, even special mysore dosa with extra cheese. I am sure many of us is already having mouth watering. But it is striking to know in bhandi we have more sale in dosa than in a resturant.

      In a bhandi customers can actually feel the dosa while it is being prepared, when the cook puts the dosa batter into the ´tawa ´, and slowly it puts all over it, you can actually feel while cheese or paneer is being spread over the dosa and how the cooks sets it and give those hot yumilicious dosa into your plate. Even few bhandi´s are famous for putting 15-20 dosas in a single ´tawa´ and setting it all together. Itś being natural human tendency whenever a delicious food is being prepared, all five senses working together we tend to feel hungry a little bit more than before.

      Normally  in a resturant food is being prepared inside the kitchen, so till the food is being served to our plate only one of our senses can feel the food that is our nose. Generally what matters in a resturant is it´s ambience, untill the food is being served.

      Generally, bhandi is also a place where the working people or a group of students or friends can meet over a cup of tea/coffee and it is also affordable to common as well as poor people, and also it doesn´t charge huge GST, which is must for a resturant.

      Being bhandi the most popular food place in South India, it not only prepares dosa it prepares idli, bonda and oviously Irani chai/coffee with osmania biscuits. Nowadays with the change of taste in people at few bhandis started putting some continental flavours in dosa, like schewan dosa.

     With the help of  ´THE INDIAN PAN CAKE´ in bhandis, is now giving a good competition to South Indian Resturants.