Storm in a kulhar

Just a week into the experiment of serving beverages in kulhars, Gupta and others like him are contemplating losses. The last time somebody in the Railway Board was hit by the kulhar brainwave8212;in 19998212;the plan was given a quick and quiet burial.

Five years later, with the plan exhumed by Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav8212;he even served the Cabinet Committee members tea in kulhars on June 88212;Western and Central Railway have scrambled into worried action.

It may be a masterstroke to clean up the eyesore that railway tracks across the country have become ever since plastic cups were introduced. Even environmentalists, though cautious, have welcomed the move. Debi Goenka of the Bombay Environment Action Group says it8217;s a good idea as long as complete hygiene is assured. 8216;8216;Also, what is the quantity of kulhars we8217;re talking about? You shouldn8217;t get rid of one environmental problem8212;plastic8212;only to cause another one.8217;8217;

Stall owners and caterers are unanimous in saying it8217;s not feasible in metro cities where they are four times more expensive, besides being unhygienic, heavy and prone to breakage.

8216;8216;From 1,000 to 1,200 cups of tea/coffee a day, my sales in the last four-five days have dived. Only 50-60 passengers have accepted kulhars.8217;8217; says Arvind Jayantilal, a contractor operating pantry cars in seven express trains.
Vinod Asthana, group general manager of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation IRCTC himself admits that only about 40 per cent of passengers are buying tea/coffee in kulhars, which have been introduced in stalls at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and at Mumbai Central. IRCTC has even begun hard-selling the kitschy concept with stickers saying: Yahan chai kulhar mein milti hai Get your tea in a kulhar here.

Still, Mohd Ali Sheikh, manager of Boon and Ahar Catering, which runs pantry cars in the upmarket Shatabdi Express among other trains, claims his tea/ coffee sales have dropped from 3,000 cups to 1,000.

Sheikh and Jayantilal both complain about the earthen cups8217; weight too. 8216;8216;Imagine an attendant trying to rush down the aisles with 100 kulhars in his arms,8217;8217; says Jayantilal. Hundred plastic cups weigh 350 gm. A single kulhar weighs 100 gm.

Naturally, many simply fall and break8212;about 50 per cent, the contractors say. Washing and reusing is a huge waste of water. Besides, passengers simply screw up their nose and go without chai.

Kiran Gawde, who runs the Fresh and Honest cafes at Churchgate station, adds that there8217;s no guarantee that the kulhars are safe. 8216;8216;Chemicals are often used to colour the soil, unlike in the villages where the kulhars are always of good quality,8217;8217; is his verdict.

It8217;s not only the stall owners who8217;re complaining. The administration of the Indian Railways is wondering how to procure the 12 crore kulhars required every day. Arvind Jain, a veteran supplier of paper glasses, won8217;t take the risk. 8216;8216;Of 100, 60 kulhars will break in transit,8217;8217; he worries.

In just the Mumbai division, there are more than 500 tea/coffee stalls on Central and Western Railway stations.

Everyday, 60 lakh commuters pass through these stations. If even 2 per cent of them stop for a cup of tea or coffee, that8217;s 1,20,000 customers for the refreshment stalls. Exactly how far that number dips will give the verdict on Laloo8217;s fancy.

Inputs from Nadia Menezes