The Chinese Nook!!!

J L Nehru very famously said, “HINDI CHINI BHAI-BHAI” and what happened after that is as they say ‘History’.

But my connection with China is not intertwined with the relations between India and China. It is a bit more personal than that. My connection with China is via “The Chinese Nook!!!!”

The Chinese Nook has been there for many years. I have known it for the last 6 years and I am sure that it has been there a good four years before that. You would have guessed it right; The Chinese Nook is a Chinese fast food joint near my house in Nashik. The term “fast food joint” seems too sophisticated I know. Well to tell you the truth, it is simply called “Chinese cha GADA” in Marathi. GADA is masculine of a gaddi (vehicle in English)

*chef @ Chinese Nook!!!! (jus kidding) :) :)

There is one thing which you should know right away about the Chinese Nook. You never go to the Nook, you are always taken there. It is strictly a ‘by invitation’ place. In that sense I can proudly say that the Nook is in a way like GMAIL was in its earlier years, ‘strictly by invitation’.

What will happen if you go directly uninvited? Nothing much, you will be ignored until you stand up and shout. In short you will not be given the premium service. Does that not affect the customer relationship? No it does not. Already every evening the ‘by invitation’ crowd has to wait for there turn to get a table. Plus if you are a first timer, that too in the ‘not invited’ category and you get impatient then you don’t deserve to be in the Nook in the first place.

The more ‘by invitation’ crowd you bring in with every visit to the Nook, the more you will be respected. So when my friend took me to the Nook for the first time, he had already taken a few other friends before and by then had earned enough respect of Ramchandra. Ramchandra was the proprietor of the Nook. Don’t be surprised, he was a Nepali citizen serving Chinese food (authentic(?)) to Indians – globalization anybody????? Maybe but definitely not ‘outsourcing’. I am sure he was not employed by a Chinese firm and India was not his Onsite :)

I apprehensively sat in front of my ‘respected’ friend who with pride was looking around as if he owned the place. “Arre chotu, jara table saaf karna toh!!!” he ordered a kid who was cleaning tables and gathering empty dishes off another table. “Sir order?” enquired a waiter. “Order kya re, tu naya hai kya? Pata nahi tereko!!!” my friend gave me a wink in between. Bemused the waiter looked around towards Ramchandra. “Arre sahib woh naya hai, kal hi aaya gaon se. Usse nahi pata.” Ramchandra turned to the chef who was to his right and said , “One by two Chicken Manchaw soup aur uske baad one by two Chicken Triple rice” “Barabar na Chinmay seth?” Chinmay’s (my friend) chest was about to burst with pride. Ramchandra remembers my name. This was the final hint, Chinese Nook was his place now. He and his accompaniment will be treated royally each and every time they come. Only now he will have to tip chotu and yes during alternate visits strike up a conversation with Ramchandra. For that he was even thinking of buying the Nepali daily, “Nepal Samachar”. :) :) :)

We were treated royally not only that time but each time after that. Chinese Nook became a place where we used to throw birthday parties to our friends. It was economical and if the extra money which mom gave was saved then everybody was ready for a round of matka kulfi.

Chinese Nook was the place where we discussed our first love affairs. That was the place where we talked about cricket, national-local politics and yes that was the place where I also bumped into a guy who on hearing that I had flunked in Graphics came up to us and offered to change my marks. He gave me his number, all I had to do was to put the paper for re-evaluation and give him a call with my seat number. He said, “Abhi Nook main mila na tu isliye, nahi toh main aasani se padak main aata hi nahi!!!” I did put the paper for re-evaluation but never called him. He met me at the Nook sometime later and said , “Yaar re-evaluation ka samay toh ho gaya, tune phone nahi kiya yaar. Bass kya bharosa nahi kya tereko??”. To which I humbly replied, “Nahi re-evaluation main nahi daala. Agli baar padai karke nikal dunga”. “Kya yaar tu bhi??” he said and went back to his soup.

Chinese Nook still stands where it used too. It has weathered many a “no hawker” drives of the munipical corporation. Ramchandra’s brother Randhir took over a couple of years back. Before going Ramchandra introduced us (me and Chinmay) to Randhir or to it more correctly introduced Randhir to us. We knew the Nook more than him at that timeJ. The royal service still continues.

I never really relish the taste of Chinese anywhere else; I like the taste of the Nook. I like the people who serve me with innocence, who enquire about my well-being each time I go.

Even if I ever end up in China, the Chinese food at the Chinese Nook will always be AUTHENTIC.