Weird title for an article, isn't it?
Well, but a fact..Welcome to this discreet, almost "taken for granted" eatery in Ahmedabad, famously known to everyone in the city as "Lucky tea house".
Quietly situated in the central area of Ahmedabad, this tea house is a special one and what makes it special is its location. This tea store is based in a graveyard..
The origins and beginnings remain unknown but talking to the owners, you realise its historical roots have been around for many years.
On one of my early visits this year to Ahmedabad, during the kite flying festival, we happened to visit the Kite market..[that is another exploration altogether and will be covered in my next blog article]..but at 12.00 in the night, while returning back to our hotel, the relatives accompanying us asked if we were up for a cup of tea. Being on a holiday, of course it didn't matter..No schedules to bother about or any early morning alarms to wake up to.
So, off we were taken- to the Lucky tea house.
Of course, we were informed before we ventured into the hotel that it was originally a graveyard.
It was an eerie experience..being in a graveyard at 12 in the night and actually having a cup of tea there..
Mainly an open area cafe, the tables were interspersed between tombs laid out in between. Teas and bun muska's [ Soft bread with butter] were ordered.
I sat back looking around the place, trying to understand how could a tea stall actually be set up on a graveyard..Weren't there religious sentiments involved ?? What about food regulations ?? And could people actually accept enjoying a cup of tea in a place like a graveyard??
Whatever your doubts, fact remains that "Lucky tea house" is frequented by everyone - irrelevant of their age, caste, gender, occupation, social strata etc.
Its a decent place [ if you can overcome your reservations about having tea amidst tombs laid out]. The tea is served piping hot and the bun muska come with a choice of butter - with or without jam.
Its actually a sight watching the young waiters bring out the food. Tea cups and saucers are stacked one above the other with almost 6 teacups being brought out at a time by each person. The bun muska is a similar sight with the plates piled onto 1 another and almost 10 servings being brought out at a time.
The place runs full - day or night..In fact, when we were done with our tea at about 12.30 and leaving the place, the cafe actually started filling up again with more midnight revealers craving for their shot of energy.
The tradition will continue,I am sure for many more years to come and the Tea house will continue to stay where it is serving more customers daily, but it would be worth passing on this story to others around the world and to make them aware of this small place that has such a strange arrangement and yet, is a favourite around.
Its interesting to note the kind of places existent in our vicinity, that almost go unnoticed mainly because that are just taken for granted as being there. Their history, their origins and the sentiments that go along with the set up are sometimes just ignored.
So, reach out..Go to the next door Chaiwala or the small South Indian eatery next to your house or the humble Irani restaurant in your area ..Talk to the people, understand their lives, their beginnings, their emotional attachments to the place and I am sure you will come out of the experience understanding a bit more of why the place exists in the first place and why things are as they are.
