Thattu Idli Alongside Tyagaraja Kriti

Before the next bite of a spongy vadai, briefly on how he is known as Mountba­tten Mani. As a 17-year-old understudy to a top wedding caterer, the youth had once served food to the British lord, also independent India바카라�s first governor-­general. On the dignitary바카라�s last visit to Madras in 1947, Mani바카라�s spread of south Indian vegetarian dishes at the Raj Bhavan imp­ressed the VIPs. Today, Mani and his son Srinivasan are among the city바카라�s top wedding caterers. And, come the Tamil Margazhi month (which is generally marriage off-season for the Hindus), some of them pitch tents at the leading sabhas that host cultural progra­mmes in the salu­brious weather.

Last fortnight, on Christmas, Mani바카라�s sweet akkara vadisal dish took the cake even as Vishaka Hari regaled the holiday crowd with her Harikatha musical discourse spun around tales from mytho­logy. The sabha functionaries sense a synergy in associating with the octogenarian. 바카라�Whether or not the rasi­kas attend the concerts, they would come to find out what Mount Mani has in store,바카라� chuckles an offi­ce-bearer. 바카라�His culinary spread is as much an attraction as the menu of ragas at the kacheri (concert).바카라�

Mani바카라�s 15-course vegetarian lunch may be pricey at Rs 350 per head, but the queues form no break between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m . The scion at the canteen would let out some of the culinary secrets. 바카라�We ret­ain the authentic taste,바카라� says Srinivasan. 바카라�We avoid onion and garlic in our lunch. We innovate, but there is no alterat­ion in classical inputs into traditio­nal dis­hes such as sambar, rasam or koottu.

Readily seconding him is a stream of mamas and mamis who thank Srinivasan for a hearty lunch. 바카라�Our annual December season isn바카라�t complete without the traditional lunch at Mount Mani바카라�s canteen,바카라� says P.S. Giridhar, a chartered acc­ountant living in Mumbai. 바카라�The musical expedition needs to be complimented by the culinary experience as well.바카라�

Theatre artiste T.V. Varadharajan says canteen-hopping is a trend during the music season when Chennai바카라�s more than five dozen sabhas resonate with kacheris from forenoons to nights. 바카라�Many of my friends spend more time at the canteen halls than inside the auditorium,바카라� he shrugs. 바카라�Since you don바카라�t need to speak in hushed tones at the canteen, it becomes a busy and loud meeting place.바카라� The canteens attract not just the music-lovers, but even those not so musically inclined.

Office-goers are noontime regulars at sabhas, wanting to try out a typical vegetarian item that is a break from their home-cooked or hotel lunch. Often they elbow out kacheri buffs, prom­pting a few sabhas to place restrictions on 바카라�outsiders바카라� eating at their canteens. For Srinivasan, that isn바카라�t an all-too pleasing move. 바카라�When you are celebrating food, how can we imp­ose restrictions?바카라� he asks.

Not different is the attitude of other sabha canteen runners. 바카라�What our wor­kers earn during this season comes in handy when they go home for Pongal festival (mid-January),바카라� reasons K. Ram­esh who has been administering the Sasthalaya canteen at Narada Gana Sabha (NGS) for past two years. At Alwar­pet, the canteen first became an adjunct of Music Academy바카라�s ann­ual festival since 1940. Music historian Sriram V. points out that back in 1939, when the festival was first held in the Senate Hall of the University of Mad­ras, there was no eatery in the vic­inity. 바카라�The following year, academy secretary K.V. Krishna­swamy Aiyar roped in Ambi바카라�s Café of Broadway as the caterer to operate from the varsity campus. Thus was born the concept of kacheri canteen. It has remained a popular add on to the city바카라�s music season.바카라�

Some canteen owners earn a fan-­following perhaps on par with a Carna­tic vidwan. Gnananimbika Jayara­man is one. The first name is of his catering service that used to function at NGS till a couple of years ago. 바카라�The quality of ­music may have varied from day to day, but not the food at Gnanambikas. There was something on offer for every stomach,바카라� Sriram recalls in a blog. 바카라�Just as people wondered as to what new item an artiste may present in a season, there were fans who thronged Jayaraman바카라�s canteen asking for the latest dish. There were households in Madras which did not light their stoves during the season.바카라�

At the hallowed Music Academy, holding the culinary fort is Mint Padmana­bhan. The food has a freshness typical of the perennial herb, though the Mint here represents the north Chennai loc­ality from where the veteran caterer comes. It isn바카라�t that spacious a canteen at the busy academy바카라�that way different from the case with NGS. 바카라�We allocate the rear side for car-parking,바카라� gushes NGS secretary Hari Shankar. 바카라�This is one reason why our sabha canteen has been much sought after irrespective of the contractor. Of course, we engage only those who serve quality food.바카라�

The sabha canteens also serve as a marketing ploy used to book catering contracts for weddings or other future functions. 바카라�A third of the enquiries we receive during the kacheri season get converted into bookings,바카라� says Sasthalaya바카라�s Ramesh. 바카라�They come asking us if we can serve our famous ilaneer paya­sam (pudding made with milk and tender coconut).바카라� No wonder, the menus get tweaked with innovations. On his part, Mount Mani comes up with a triple-­decker idli or vetthilai dosai that inserts betel leaf, while Ramesh바카라�s special dosai is vazhaithandu that chips in banana tree-stem. There is also the Chettinadu thattu idli.

The canteens aren바카라�t profitable ventu­res but launchpads for marriage-party contracts, says Srinivasan. Adds Ram­esh: 바카라�Seeing our name-board at a wedding hall, people recall our canteen at NGS with fondness.바카라� Ragas can be delicious in more ways than one.

By G.C. Shekhar in Chennai