One January morning in 1928, a young Irani is wandering behind Victoria Terminus. He finds himself in a bustling goods shed (a godown) alongside the railway, and therein senses an opportunity. The very next day, he pays a little baksheesh to the guards and starts selling chai and baked-goods from a makeshift stall. Decades later, a brave new nation has been born, and the Irani’s café has grown established through its loyal service to the railwaymen, office clerks and sahibs who frequent it.
Recommandé
