The unforgettable Singh’s Durga Road restaurant
My intrepid friend Francis Noronha (Lethbridge, Canada) who has a gleaming eye for nostalgia, a joke or two and material of historical relevance to Goans in the diaspora, sent me this little gem.
During our college days, my friends and I had developed a
reputation for wolfing down prodigious quantities of food. During College
vacations when the refectory was not open, we discovered a restaurant that
served a delicious chicken curry and all-you-can-eat chapatis for a
ridiculously low price. It immediately became the go-to place for us
cash-strapped students. I recall that after our third visit, the Sikh
proprietor confessed to us tearfully that while he appreciated our custom and
was pleased that we so obviously enjoyed his food, he would in future have to
restrict us to two chapatis each and charge us the equivalent of a dime for
each additional one. We readily agreed that it was still a very reasonable deal
and we had no desire to see the good man driven to declare bankruptcy. The
Durga Restaurant still occupies a very special place in our hearts! May the
proprietor be blessed with heavenly banquets in his afterlife.
One of Francis’
network friends wrote: I remember those great days. Vegetarian curry was 3 shillings.
and chicken 4 shs. Durga fed me ever yday for two months and Shanti and Gopal
for three, as in the third month I was away hitch hiking around East
Africa for a month with a friend. Our record was 17 chapattis at one
sitting and we finished his big bottle of mango pickle. One day the waiter
was slow in bringing the chapattis when I shouted " lette chapatti"
(bring chappatis). He told me that the chapattis were not ready, so I shouted
"piga machini teke"(give the machine kick start). A huge Singh who was the chapatti maker came
out to see who had said that. I was under the table pretending I had dropped
something.
Cyprian Fernandes: Singh’s in Durga Road was familiar to most Goans who lived in Eastleigh, Pangani, M’lango Kubwa, Forest Road, and the other nearby suburbs. Some of the late night card players used to regularly go to Singh’s restaurant in the very early hours of the morning. We used to treat him like a first cousin, a very trusting and generous man. Sadly, I have forgotten his name.
Comments