Nectar in Paradise

Sometime back the Times Good Food Guide handed out awards to hotels in Hyderabad for Best Biryani, Best This and Best That to several joints that would make up quite a long list. All these awards were for stuff that very few of us take on a daily basis. Okay, biryani is one thing that we eat more than regularly so it made sense to me. If I remember correctly, Bawarchi won the Best Biryani prize so it okay. But what was disappointing was that one common thing that every Hyderabadi partakes daily was ignored. I am talking about Irani chai. If you ask me there should be a separate award for Best Irani chai but I don’t think any of the judges would deem to drink literally hundreds of cups of tea before deciding on the prize. If you ask me again, I would unhesitatingly give the Best Irani chai award to Paradise in Secunderabad without a second thought. I consider the Irani chai there nothing less than nectar and hence do not fail to have it at least once a week.

But ever since becoming a non-resident Hyderabadi the Paradise nectar has become out of reach for me. Last week, however, I was in Hyderabad on a week-long training session and I thought I would taste the Paradise Irani chai regularly but it wasn’t so. The place I was supposed to be trained turned out to be quite far away, almost near the Shamshabad International Airport. It would be late evening by the time I returned to the city after the training. But on Thursday the training ended early so I rushed straight to Paradise. For once I thought I’d try to use the wine aficionado’s lingo to describe the Irani chai at Paradise. So here goes:

As I said earlier, nectar is the right word to describe the chai at Paradise. The first sip transports you to a different world. The rest of it flows down the throat like silk, lighting up the insides. One feels a certain warmth after imbibing it. If you happen to see a glow on the face of anyone stepping out of Paradise then you can be certain he’s just downed a cup of the heavenly liquid. The outstanding thing about the Irani chai at Paradise is that it doesn’t leave an aftertaste on the tongue or in the mouth. Elsewhere, the taste lingers on for a while but not with the Irani chai at Paradise. All of it goes in straight inside and does its job without much ado.

Unlike the other Irani joints the amazing thing about Paradise it that the chai is served in cups sterilized in hot water. You can see this if you opt for self-service buying a token at the counter and picking up your own tea. The guy picks out the cups with a tong from the steaming water before pouring the chai into the cup. The only gripe I have about it is that the cups seem too small and the quantity of chai seems too little for me. I always feel that a couple of more gulps would have been better. But maybe the Paradise folks feel it is just enough.

Continuing with the topic of Irani chai and biryani, the other day I caught an episode of the program, India ka Zayka, on television. Vinod Dua was going around Irani joints in Hyderabad. When I switched on the television he was in Bahar restaurant tasting Osmania biscuits and dilkush in Bahar, then he went on to taste lassi at Shadab, kabab, nehari elsewhere, haleem or chicken at Niagara and so on. He had a deadpan expression as he tasted a bit of all the dishes before him before proceeding to describe the ingredients used in the dishes as if we did not know. There was no other expression that other people on such programs have, one of pleasure and discovery. I did not think Vinod Dua was impressed by the typical Hyderabadi food in our hotels. While tasting the kebabs he said he was a Delhiite and said that kebabs in Delhi are something else. To me it appeared like he would not be able to find food like Delhi food anywhere. I wonder why he is taking the trouble of visiting so many places. If you ask me, a chota samosa at Paradise is enough to take you to foodie heaven. I have no idea if he tasted chota samosas anywhere in Hyderabad because I missed the beginning of the episode.

Two more things about Irani hotels before giving a rest to the salivary glands. During the Ramzan month all Irani joints in Hyderabad are closed for one day. This year that day fell on Saturday last. I couldn’t find a single Irani hotel open in Hyderabad. I was desperate for another cup of Irani but I had no such luck despite traveling the length and breadth of the city. All Irani chai addicts in Hyderabad must have had a terrible time on Saturday dealing with headaches and other withdrawal symptoms.

At Liberty, once upon a time there stood a magnificent Irani hotel called Mughal Durbar that served fantastic biryani. The place closed down several years ago leaving many in the Basheerbagh area heartbroken. In its place they were selling export linen and stuff until last week. Last week, I saw that Mughal Durbar had reopened at the same place but not in its earlier glory. One has to wait and see what happens in the coming days since now there is only a board and a couple of tables.

Grand Hotel near GPO Abids has undergone a complete makeover with steel furniture, new tiles and a totally new décor. Gone are the large wall mirrors that decorated the walls, the ancient tables and chairs, the smoke covered walls and the glass display cases at the main counter where a guy was always making bun maska. I felt sad because it was better the old way. The place had character but now it is all gone. The only heartening thing is that the place hasn’t closed down altogether.