HUNGRY YEARS

I STARTED living in a hostel for the first time when I came to The American College, Madurai in 1951 to do my Intermediate course. The food was good, with some non-vegetarian dish every day excepting Fridays, when we had paayasam instead. There was biriyani every Sunday. Snacks and tea were served every evening, with sweets twice a week. Every month there was a garden party with fruit salad and ice cream. For all this we paid just twenty five rupees a month.

The throes of hunger


But we were a hungry lot, for the quantity of the food was limited. And since we played a lot of vigorous games and went for long walks, we needed much more sustenance. The classes started at 10 a.m. and since we had our breakfast at 7.30, we were famished even in the first class of the day. When the classes ended at 1 p.m. we rushed to the mess and were back in class before 2 p.m. We were free again at 5 p.m. when the mad scramble for tea and snacks started. And then dinner at 7.30. But still we retained that lean and hungry look of Cassius. So when we went out we gobbled whatever we could, depending on our pocket money. Mostly we munched peanuts. It was just peanuts for the gargantuan hunger pangs we suffered.

Fabulous coffee


When we had some money we went to one of the two restaurants opposite to the college gate - Hotel Delight and Anjaneya Bhavan. When we went into the town, we made it a point to have coffee in College House. The coffee there was a miracle potion that attracted people from other towns too. Some travelled from Virudhunagar and Dindigul just to have that coffee. We also went to Thowfeek Hotel on Town Hall Road. The owner was a massive tough guy with long sideburns and a bristling moustache. He sat at the counter like a monolith, and attracted more attention than the food there. He always wore a very thin transparent white shirt open at the neck to display a thin gold chain. Food was taken out and served to people sitting in their cars.

Reprising Maugham


Sometimes we went to Udipi Lodge on West Masi Street. We made it a point to sit at a table serviced by a particular waiter. He was an old man, who in 1930's waited on Somerset Maugham when he spent two days in Madurai en route Kerala to do research for his novel, The Razor's Edge. The old waiter regaled us with an account of Maugham's mannerisms, his habits and his taste in food and drink. We sat for quite awhile over our coffee, thinking of Maugham, who at that time was our favourite author. Occasionally we went to a small eatery opposite to Central Cinema. There was a board in front of this place that said, Mann Paanai Samayal - that is, the cooking was done only in earthen pots. Though we didn't know the particular desirability of such cooking, and couldn't tell the difference between this and other types of cooking, we went there because they served a very tasty combination of vathal kuzhambu and buttermilk, which was highly appetizing.

One-man show


We had noticed a restaurant near the college which no body seemed to patronize. So a friend and I decided to give it a try. There were tables in a huge room. The man at the counter was a large individual with a lot of loose flesh. He rang a bell when he saw us come in. And then he came down from behind the counter and took our orders. He turned towards the kitchen and yelled, "Rendu Dosaiiii". And then he quietly went into the kitchen, made the dosais, and brought them out and served us. He asked what we wanted next and then shouted, "Rendu Coppeeee". He then went in and made the coffee which he served us. He wrote out a bill and handed it to us and then rushed back to the counter to collect the money. All this was quite amusing, but the food was not up to par, and so that was our first and last visit there. This place was later taken over by the owner of Anjaneya Bhavan, Narayana Nair, who started the Narayana Lunch Home here. Just reminiscing about these places brings back the hunger pangs that always accompanied us those days.