One for memory

Written by MangalDalal

May 9, 2010 11:01 PM IST

4 min read

Stepping into Crystal is like stepping back in time. The restaurant features high black ceilings with grey iron beams supporting it,faded pictures and cracks on its walls and a creaky staircase with dark patches caused by smoke that probably escaped through the adjacent kitchen door. Nevertheless,the restaurant has become a Mecca for the citys numerous exiles,who crave simple,but wholesome meals. So when rumours spread of Crystal downing its shutters,consternation is only to be expected.

When asked whether it was true that Crystal is going to shut down,owner KK Khanna stoically,almost nonchalantly confirms,saying woh hoga jab hoga (that will happen when it will happen). Khanna doesnt seem worried,and perhaps rightly so. He informs that he will soon gain ownership,as one of the buildings tenants,to the space the restaurant occupies that he is presently leasing. I havent received any formal notice yet,but I have been informed verbally that the entire building will be broken down and rebuilt. It is meant to happen in about two months and this could take around two years or more, he explains. Outside the restaurant,too,an employee sits with a large vat of kheer who seems unperturbed by the news: For now,I will still be here stirring this kheer all day, he shrugs.

That the restaurant is shutting down will hit its customers,often regulars,harder. Aatish Yagnik,an employee at a branch of a bank nearby,worriedly says,This is bad news. Crystal serves the cheapest and the best food in this area. Another middle-aged patron,Alka Jain,says that she will miss the fact that,Whenever you go there,you hear old classics by Talat Mehmood or Hemant Kumar playing there. Gastronomically,the restaurant is famous for its parathas and rajma as much as it is for the aam ras currently available.

Khanna is constantly approached at his cashier desk by sweat-soaked waiters rattling out dishes to be billed,even as he interacts with familiar customers. A couple of demure girls,betis to Khanna,hand over the exact amount they know their bill will be. Another lady picks up her regular take-away order; aaj sahib nahi aaye? (your husband didnt come today), Khanna enquires with a smile.

The restaurant started off in 1954 as a snack-shop and was converted into a restaurant 32 years ago. Crystal owes its success to the patronage of college students as well as paying guests who are typically young,on a budget and new to the city. Its the closest I can get to eating ghar ka khana in Mumbai, says Priya Nagpal,who started frequenting the restaurant when she moved to the city as a student in 2003. Naturally,its success should be attributed to the street-smart Khanna,who is clear about serving vegetarian food despite his personal eating habits including meat. Most of the students and residents in the area are vegetarian,sometimes even Jain, he observes.

While Crystal will shut when construction work begins,Khanna,however,doesnt confirm what he will do when that happens. Im 72 and have no sons to help me out. Running a restaurant is hard work and I might just take a break for the few years it takes for the building to be completed. A regular,Hetal Desai,refuses to believe the news,and says that one of the employees promised her that the restaurant was moving to Vile Parle. Dekh lenge (Well see), Khanna smiles wryly when asked about that possibility,but doesnt confirm anything. He mentions that it could prove hard to find a property,given that his current lease costs him Rs 80 a month.

Few South Mumbai residents may know that the decrepit Desai Mahal,the 100-year-old building that houses Crystal,was originally called Lily Cottage. Even if the restaurant shuts down permanently,it is certain that plenty will reminisce about it as the building that housed Crystal.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:

Mumbai talk