Khadyayatra, Part Two

The highly awaited sequel to Khadyayatra Part One is here. Partly because I was busy, mostly because I was lazy. But it’s high time I did this.

And so we continue the epic tale.

Act IV: His Majesty’s Bhel

In front of Vishrambaug Wada is a small shop called ‘Pushkarni Bhel’. It serves Bhel and nothing else. At the counter sits a man with a Bigbali (a single earring worn by men who either have done something which pleases the Peshwa or have a bad fashion sense). When a customer asks for Bhel, he majestically says “Pandhra minta lagiti’” (will take 15 minutes). And the customer waits.

The shop has chairs arranged with their backs to the walls, and no tables. The furnishing style reminds me of waiting rooms in clinics. The main at the counter mixes each Bhel separately, instead of doling it out from a common container. My friend tells me that the shop does not buy farsan wholesale, but has it made specially. Even the pani is unique.

All the while, an old radio tuned to a Marathi station plays songs of days long gone. Now that is ambience.

When we visited, we waited for the mandatory 10 minutes, then dug into a mountain of the finest bhel I had eaten till date. Pushkarni’s mix has the right amount of groundnut and watery goad pani, which uses jeera instead of khajoor.

The owner operates the shop on his own terms. The shop has notices like “Pani apaple ghyave” or “500 chi note asel tar adhich sanga”. The owner frequently and casually tells people to wait for 15 minutes. But quality carries Pushkarni’s bhel across.

Act V: Disappointment

Long years ago, I had a tryst with Sri Krishna Bhuvan’s Misal in Tuslibaug. And now the time had come to relive its taste. Completely. In full measure. Sri Krishna was to be our main course that day. We knew that Sri Krishna closes at 7. What we expected was that they stop taking customers at 7. Sprinting at full speed, we fell onto Sri Krishna’s carpet at 6:55.

A carpet that was, incidentally in the process of being rolled. We grovelled for one plate of Misal. The proprietor said “Ek nahi ani don nahi. Chala”. (Not one, and not two. Off you go!). In this manner, our plans were shattered.

Pune is known for being the home of Misals. The Misals of Pune are vaired in taste, texture (and quality too!). From the Farsan-y, Sample-y affairs of college canteens, to the filling, “Manachya” Misals of Sri Krishna, Sri, Bedekar and Katakirr, Pune has them all.

Sri Krishna Bhavan serves a very different kind. Not very spicy, instead blended with soft pone, ad served with a ‘slice’ instead of Pav, with Sheera and Taak by the side.

But it was not to be. With a heavy heart, we walked to Wadeshwar, seeking comfort in it’s Idli-Chutney.

Act VI: A Steamy Affair

The Wadeshwar we were going to on Bajirao road has branches on Law College Road, FC Road and elsewhere. These branches are competing with Vaishali and Roopali as the “Chal aaj ratri bhetu” spots. Fast service, polite staff, extreme hygiene and good coffee.

But the Wadeshwar Bhuvan of Bajirao Road has 7 items on its menu. There is a different menu in the morning. Of these 7, sticking to our policy of “Most famous dish” we ordered Idli Chutney.

The Idlis were huge, hot, with steam rising from them when they were placed before us. Beside the was a thick, sweet coconut-y chutney. We wolfed the Idlis down, and called fro extra chutney as we quickly emptied the first lot.

Here is the thing about the chutney- “Extra Chutney” and “Extra Thick Chutney” are two of the 7 items on Wadeshwar’s menu.

With filled stomachs, feeling a bit warmer, we left the premises of Shri Wadeshwar Bhuvan.

Act VII: This and that.

Where Bajirao Road meets Tilak road, there is a little tapri called “Uttam Chaat Bhandar”, operated by Mavshi. We walked to that place, and found it closed. The we asked Mavshi’s direct competition, a neighbouring chaat shop about their competitor’s (Mavshi’s) whereabouts. They politely told us that Uttam was closed, and rather decently ignored the fact that they were selling the very same wares which we were seeking. (Conisder this in contrast with the Wadap (taxi) drivers of the hills near Pune, who instead of letting the customers approach them start following the customers and asking them where they want to go. Then they go on to assure the travellers that the Bus To Pune wont be coming today. (And unfailingly, it arrives half an hour later.) Anyway, back to the story)

Having come all the way to Tilak Road, we began to walk towards Grahak Peth, for a little something. In our discrete mathematics course, we had the following statement as an example in propositional logic- “Cheap food is not good”. Upon which a friend of mine astutely remarked “actually, Good Food is Cheap” We then found it’s contrapositive “Cheap Food is Good”. Now Grahak Peth is a place where this statement, it’s contrapositive, inverse, and converse all come true. (That’s an exaggeration. It’s converse is true, not it’s contrapositive or inverse). This is the reason I consider Grahak Peth Important in Pune’s food scene.

For a college student, this is paradise. Grahak peth has all the tasty little things- cakes, brownies, mini burgers and pizzas, cutlets, coffee. The prices are ridiculously low (and also plain ridiculous- most items are priced at rates which are not multiples of 5!)

While I cannot say anything about the quality of the ingredients, food here is tasty, cheap and clean.

Ignoring the spinach cutlet priced at 5 Rupees, and not going as far as the Veg. Cheese Burger priced at 30, we had a brownie each (at 12 Rupees apiece, with substantial quantity), lamenting the fact that we lost the Misal.

This is a trilogy