Samovar, Satkar, Air-Cool...

Samovar, Satkar, Air-Cool...

It is bewildering to see Mumbai changing so fast. Many iconic places have drawn the shutters, the places which were linked to my youth, my struggles, my dreams here in this city. 

People say change is a good thing. But to me what it really means is that something I didn't want to happen at all has happened.

The first to go was Cafe Samovar. A restaurant, so quaint and classic that it belonged to Paris and not Mumbai. Tucked into the unpretentious foyer of Jahangir Art Gallery, Cafe served arty, and ordinary people alike with prices not so snooty and food always tasty. In the true spirit of Mumbai, the Cafe severed chilled beer and warm wafers.

I met a friend here often for lunch over a bottle of beer, aloo paratha, raita, and a bucketful of gossips. Abundant art awaited in the galleries next door. The Samovar Cafe was an icon of romance, old-world charm, and hope. The cafe made me feel good about life in this town.

Two other establishments shut doors in quick succession. Satkar Restaurant at Churchgate and Air Cool saloon next door. Both bore witness to my trial and tribulation when I landed in Mumbai with a dream and a tin trunk.

Sarkar was a landmark and sentinel of the Churchgate station. Popular with thousands of hungry students of nearby colleges, it had an open-air courtyard and indoor setting for couples looking to hold hands. It never rushed you, even if you were here for a cup of tea. 

Waiters wore a white coat and proffered six pages of the menu that were full of an array of mouth-watering snacks ranging from idli-wada, tomato omelet to chai-butter/toast. Puri-bhaji was priced a modest Rs 3.50 that fitted just well in my monthly salary of Rs 450.

Sarkar continued our family's favorite place for years. I remember having a meal there on the last evening of its closure, watching the sad smile on the face of the waiter who I tipped Rs 500.

Air-Cool, a grand old, gent's hair-cutting saloon, sat next to Satkar. When you enter Air-Cool, it soothed your frayed nerves through soft piped music of old Hindi film songs. There was a heady aroma of after-shave, anti-septic lotions, and hair creams. The constant hissing noise of opening crisp, starched sheets of clothes ready to be wrapped around you for your haircut made you feel welcome.

Satkar and Air-Cool have reopened in other locations. But both have lost the character of old. As to the Samovar, where will we find another Mrs. Usha Khanna to open and nurture such an institution!

I make do with Cafe Mondegar now, another such quaint and quirky cafe at the Regal.  I love their breakfast served with beer and the cartoons of Mario Miranda on the walls.

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