Cafe Madras regulars get a 1940s' surprise

On Tuesday morning, regulars like Prabhakar Rege at Cafe Madras were in for a surprise when they received the bill. A coffee lover, Rege comes every morning from his Shivaji Park residence just to sip filter coffee at Cafe Madras. He was asked to shell out 20 paise, instead of Rs 25 he pays thrice everyday when he comes there for coffee.

On Tuesday, Cafe Madras, which satiated taste buds of avid south Indian food lovers for decades, completed 75 years. "To mark the occasion, we decided to have the menu of 1940s be given from morning to noon at the price it was given then," said Devavrat Kamath, whose family runs the place. The idea to celebrate it in such a nostalgic way was not of Kamath though.

"Around 10 years ago, a regular suggested that we put up the menu of 1940, which is when our grandfather opened the place here when he was 23 years old," said Kamath. The idea struck and the family waited for 10 years to implement it on Tuesday morning when it celebrated 75 years of its existence.

"We did not tell anyone. It was just supposed to be a surprise to our regulars. Only those dishes that were available back then at that price were served," said Kamath. These included upma, idli, coffee and masala dosa. Both idli and upma were prices at 20 paise while coffee and masala dosa at 15 paise and 40 paise each. These are today priced at Rs 35, Rs 25 and Rs 50.

"Only four items used to be there at that time on the menu as compared to the over 25 that we have now. We changed the software of our billing system to reflect 1940s prices till the noon time," said Kamath as he struggles to talk in the midst of congratulatory messages, and mementos from regulars and queries on the special price offered. Old and new who have seen him grow in the vicinity ever since he took over the business 18 years ago found time to pat him.

His elder brother Jaiprakash who sits on the billing desk was all busy answering incessant calls after residents got to know of the offer through word of mouth. "It was only for breakfast menu and it was a surprise," he tells them over the phone. While some inquired and felt dejected that it was only till breakfast, some other regulars like Bhavna Mehta joked that it be extended and if the owners desired money they could take it tomorrow. "I've called my friends to have idli and dosa for 40 paise. Please don't embarrass me now in front of them. If you want money, I'll pay you tomorrow but let us have items for 40 paise now," she said laughing. A resident of the area, she has been a regular for the past 30 years.

Though Matunga was predominantly south Indian hub, it now has a number of Gujaratis and clientele is a cosmopolitan crowd. Kamath talks in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and of course Konkani, his mother tongue. He does not know Tamil yet, a language spoken in the state from the restaurant got its name from. "But we have stuck to the south Indian dishes and have not altered our menu," said Devavrat.

This has ensured that a number of old timers from Bollywood come there regularly besides prominent businessmen like Mukesh Ambani. "Dirubhai Ambani was a regular and that is how Mukesh too became a regular. In Bollywood we have most of the old timers who are regular like the Kapoor family, Naseeruddin Shah's family, Jackie Shroff, and Anurag Kashyap and Deepika Padukone among the new faces," said Kamath.

On Tuesday, however, it was the regulars' day out. People came with their families to be part of the celebrations. "Whenever I come from London, I visit this place at least thrice every week. I got to know from Facebook that they are celebrating 75, so dropped in to savour my favourite items," said Vasant Shetty.