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Coming home
to Vaishali
 With
Vaishali here
there's nothing to fear.
No morning bustle
or breakfast to rustle
as the family favourite is near.
(Mantra of housewives in and around F C College
Road)
Avinash Joshi is a regular. He has been coming
to Vaishali for over 25 years now. Earlier he
used to accompany his father. Now Gaurav, his
7 year old son, is a more than a willing partner.
Like the Joshis, there are several other families
where generations are known to have visited or
contin ue
to visit this friendly neighbourhood joint with
abiding regularity. Established in 1956 by Mahabala
Shetty, presently the premises are being astutely
managed by his nephew Jaganath Shetty. A regular
Udipi joint that specialises in South Indian snacks,
the atmosphere inside is like one big happy joint
family chatting over their Sunday lunch. Everybody
seems to know everyone here and all appear to
be on a high after guzzling the sizzling Sambhar.
 The
section you initially enter is clean and well
lit, with normal table and sofa seating arrangements.
Customers who wish to simply eat and scoot settle
for this section. The regulars gravitate towards
the open air section. Here's where the action
is. During the day, it resembles a college
canteen with youngsters prancing around the place,
listening to music, copying notes, guffawing and
even flying rockets made from the paper
napkins artistically placed in glasses. According
to Manager Saddhu Shetty, the dishes are reasonably
priced in order to continue drawing the student
crowd. They do not, in other words, wish to earn
a 'pricey' label and make it inaccessible to their
favourite 'junta'.
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 Evening
is the time for families to troop in. There is
a 'family corner'' tucked away on one side
and a "smoking corner" on the other,
but there is major 'tucking away' happening in
all corners. And if you suddenly hear a youngster
scream 'SPDP, ASAP' do not be startled.
It's just an order for Shev Potato Dahi Puri to
be brought pronto!
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