The Fastest Home Run

If there’s one chain which-like the Nirula’s in the North-have taken on the might of Domino’s, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s in the south and west of the country, it’s a small, five-letter word: Udipi. Ask anyone who has been to one of the Udipi eateries and the name will instantly conjure up images of steaming idlis and crisp dosas in the mind’s eye. After all, the chain is also synonymous with indigenous fast food and can easily be considered Mumbai’s lifeline.

Over a thousand Udipi restaurants dish out snacks and food within seconds. Most of these joints are strategically located near railway stations, bus depots, in marketplaces and near housing societies. And in service and decor, these restaurants beat any of their Western world counterparts in every attribute that is associated with fast food. The prices are rock bottom. A plate of idlis costs anything between Rs 8 and 10, a sada dosa about Rs 12-15 and a masala dosa comes at Rs 15-18. The Association of Hotel and Restaurants assures that its members adhere to the consensus on pricing. It takes less than a few minutes to serve a dosa which is freshly made on a permanently hot tava. Ready items like idlis and vadas take just a few seconds. Udipi restaurants across the city are generally unbelievably clean. As Sadanand Hegde, who owns Tulsi in Mumbai’s Nariman Point, comments: "We South Indians are fastidious about cleanliness. Any Udipi veteran can vouch that he has someone sweeping or swabbing under his feet seven times out of ten."

The Udipi restaurants are mostly owned by Kannadiga families, prominent among them being the Kamats and the Shettys. They have brought with them the traditional recipes which have been passed around by word of mouth and so the food in most of their eateries tastes much the same. They have also beaten labour problems, the most difficult issue that stymies promoters. So while other hoteliers circumvent labour union issues by rarely allowing permanent employment, the Udipis not only provide permanent jobs to a good number of staff but also provide them with food and a roof over their heads. Typically, young boys, usually 12- or 13-year-olds from poor families all over Karnataka, migrate to the city in search of jobs. And they usually find them at the Udipis. Several of them even make it to the night schools. But they remain loyal to their employers. And it isn’t unusual to find 40-year-old waiters in any Udipi in Mumbai.