A Study in Contrast & of Contentment

I keep the cup down and instantly I feel the smile coming on, the smile that makes my day feel complete. Though the cup this time was not the traditional silver, but a simple looking porcelain one, it still gave me the divine experience MTR is expected to give thousands of waiting hungry residents of Bangalore every week. MTR - the epitome of old world charm, where integrity means not moving an inch from its landmark position for the last 85 years and giving us an experience not parallel to anything else anywhere. I have been to some of the more famous old Dosa joints in Bangalore and they all feel a little short of MTR in one way or another. I don’t want to rebuke someone’s choice here, just saying that this is one place which you never forget. It makes you feel like that time you stood in lines to get something, when you were very young and your dad took you some place special in the morning to pack a nice breakfast. It takes you back somewhere – Someplace really nice, inside your head.
People familiar with the place would have heard about the famed waiting room; an anti room meant for eager customers to meticulously plan their sumptuous meal, while they wait for the man on the high stool to call their name and invite them inside the simple rooms that either is for the Family or the Singles. The atmosphere in the waiting rooms is one of restrained anxiety; everyone looks calm on the outside, however they’re all petrified to miss their name being called aloud. Missing out on the roll call can mean losing out on the quick to finish Sambhar Vadas or the amazing Badam Halwa getting over (Thank God for the Dosa being a long runner, they rarely say “Dosa illa”). So, they wait and drool over the things that’ll soon touch their palates. The ubiquitous clock ticking very slowly!
As I sat there some weeks back, inside the dining hall waiting for my Dosas to come (the vada was out!L), I realized the magnitude of expectations the cooks here have on their shoulders when making the food everyday - the food needed to completely satisfy our soul & heart, more than our stomachs. This was not just another restaurant, it’s a part of history and you never expect history to fail you. If that’s true, then the fact that these kitchen Demigods should feel nirvana day after day when they go back home, is true as well. I believe that they are rarely tired and more content from their day’s work.
I have felt that on somedays, instances where I have given more than 16hrs, and not felt tired, only satisfied of how well things went that day; how much fun it was to work on something that really had substance, a punch. It is this feeling – and nothing else – which drives me. The contrast is the consistency of this contentment - my daily score vs. theirs.
Coming back to the unassuming dining hall, Mr. Dosa arrived on the single largest tray I have seen at any eat out. The ghee the top was bound to get my head reeling, and it did that effortlessly. The beauty of the MTR dosa lies in its thick & moist crust and the spicy chutney inside it; it fills your taste buds with something like never before and nowhere else. Divine and Humble at the same time. I somehow curbed my enthusiasm to have the third one and ordered for a light coffee. A truly important part of the experience here is to finish of with piping hot coffee in a silver glass which gets hot enough to burn your fingers. Alas, the silver cup was out and the porcelain made its debut in front of me (What can I expect at 6:00 in the evening, when this place close down at 7:30). The coffee here is like paring a good gourmet meal with a vintage French wine, not that I have too much experience of the latter, but still – the dosa and the filter coffee are in some ways made for each other, like a nice cozy couple in love. I look around at the other tables and the glasses are being taken away leaving behind omnipresent smiles all around. The Demigods are going back content again!
I must leave now to come back another day – hungry as ever, tired enough to be relieved and wanting to go back home smiling. Till then MTR stands and runs a show worthy of a Gastro Oscar. Ciao!