As expected,there is a reason behind the nomenclature -5kPalace..
The previous occupants were a bunch of Shanmugha seniors of ours who were ardent drinkers of Haywards 5000(5k) brand of whiskey and had inscribed the words - 5K-Palace on one of the walls inside the house.
When we moved in,we tried to preserve the history and heritage of the house by atleast keeping the name unchanged and the rest is history!
Ok enough of the build-up :)
When I think of those 1.5 or 2 years of my life,there are so many cherishable memories.I am sure the other 6 friends of mine would also bear the same thoughts all thie rlife.One of the attractive aspects of being away from hostel was the choice of food that we had in the evenings..
I would like to go back in time and recount those shops and each of their specialities..
With the kind of english stalwarts and cryptic thinkers(read as 'no other work'/paruppu guys) in the group,it didn't take too long to come up with a code for these shops..They were A,B,C,D,E,F Kadais..
The shops...
A - Ammaaa kadai..
This was the shop that was just opposite the 'Srinagar/Medical college' busstand.Unforgettable aspect was the 'Touser Paandi' guy who was obviously the shop's ammaa's husband.It was famous for the 12 rs full meals that some of us used to eat after the university exams.While I could bearly eat 2 courses,namely the sambaar and rasam rice,KSP used to shock me by finishing 3 courses and even ordering an omlette to go as a side dish to his rasam saadham!
B-Boss Kadai..
The only shop that everyone of us liked,I guess.Boss was famous for his 2 rs dosa and 2 rs 'Aaaf-boild' or 2rs'Omlette'.The guy used to make dosas and omelette like a machine continuously and used to be very sharp in keeping track of how many items each person ate.Very nice guy!The shop would hear sounds of 'Oru aa-boild Boss,oru dosa boss' throughout the evening.There used to be a dumb servant who also was very active!
The decision taking process while coming to choosing a shop for dinner was very tricky.Boss kadai would almost always be the obvious choice for dinner because of the specials that he used to carry.On mondays it used to be the "Kesari" ;On tuesdays,I think it was the thaenga rice and on one other day it would be 'Puliyodharai' - just 2 rs for 1 scoop!!
One note-worthy happening was ..Nattu disliking the shop accusing Boss for his favoritism and partiality while serving dosas.He used to get annoyed if he was made to wait for more than 2 minutes for his next dosa!But still he used to accompany us there only on mondays,jus to eat Kesari and then leave!
Once when a dosa delivered to his plate seemed crumbled,he came up with a funny ever-memorable quote.."Adecha...ennada Dosaya rape panni kudthurkaaru Boss!?"
C- Chettinaadu mess..
This was the place just on the entrance of our street which was named 'Srinagar'!The place was famous for the hot steaming idlies and getti chutney and mainly the tasty poori masaal set for just 5 rs.Nattan and I used to eat that and even pack it up for lunch during the study holidays when we would save time and money by eating the 'to-go' lunch rather than going out for lunch!
Nattu became famous or rather infamous for deliberately cheating the owner while paying his bills.The owner was so bad in maths that sometime he would return more money as balance than what was paid to him in the first place!Nattu made use of this strategy many a times :p..
D-Dhanda Kadaiii
This was the shop that we labelled as Dhandam because none of us liked it but were forced many a times to eat Bonda/Karachev or curd rice there as all the other shops in the area would be closed and only this guy would have his shop open,mainly to sell cigarettes.We used to meet our Maanojipatti counterparts there.While we used to scramble for any available edible item in the shop,those guys used to just buy 'dhum' and pepsi!
E-Ecchi kadaii..
I don't exactly remember the reason why we named it as 'Ecchi Kadai'.I think it was because the owner and his wife did not maintain the place that well and forgot to follow some decent level of 'echchal/patthu'.
It was famous for its meals and it was slightly near the medical college and would be jam packed with the medicos.
I seldom ate at that place,as I didn't like it for some reason.KSP and nattan were regulars there.
F-Fruit kadaiii..
This was actually a made-up name.There was no such thing as a fruit shop.There was this Banana vendor with his cart near Chettinaad mess.Nattu again became infamous for arguing and fighting with that guy for bargaining over 2 bananas to be sold for 1 rs.
Apart from the above mentioned shops,we were regulars to the shop called 'Thrupthi' mess.It was maintained by a muslim guy and the place smelled awfully of non-veg items.I can still remember the sour taste of the so-called sambhaar which used to be watery and disgusting.Still,due to pressure and from Badri and Subbu,we used to eat at that place atleast once every day!The tiffin was actually ok but the meals was horrible!KSP and Nattu used to fight for the tamil newspaper to read the 'Vaalibaruku Naruks' kind of sleazy news and simultaneously jollu uttufy at the centerfolds.
I never used to show much interest as I was very bad at reading tamil.
This was the place were Badri,KSP,Nattan and I used to sit in the evening with the 1 re kaara chev packet and Badri would wait to get a glimpse of the famous 'Reefat Baanu'!He would then sing paeans of her all the way upto our house!
There was another shop opposite to Thrupthi mess which was frequented only during the study holidays.It was famous for the chilly pakoda and molaga Bajjis.It was a bliss to go there in the rain and eat those bajjis,listening to crap from Badri,Nattu and VS.Their arguments provided enough fodder through the entire time we used to be at the shop.
One another shop that needs to be mentioned is the 'Paal Shop' that only VS used to frequent.It was quite far-away but still he used to walk that far.He was known for taking milk with too much sugar from that shop!
Then there was this Telephone booth,which VS was the main customer.I used to wonder what he used to speak daily to his parents for such a long time,while I never had anything to speak.My calls were barely a minute long.I became infamous at college with this rumour floating around(thanks to Badri) that I used the tele booth to leave missed call home-a 1 ring missed call meant - I was fine ; a 2 ring meant - I need money..etc etc!
Those were good old times!Reading this might be boring to many,but I know that there are atleast 6 people who would feel nostalgic and go transfered back in time to those wonderful days of never-ending fun!
Cheers to 5k!
-Raapi
Posted by rajesh | 
« Home | Kaavya - Shame on you! » //-->
Hi Raapi,
A small correction. FYI,Haywards 5000 was never a whisky. Its a beer. Have fun blogging.
Aravind
~Oo°~
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