Early to bed and early to rise "" we may not know whether such "conventional wisdom" necessarily makes men healthy, wealthy and wise, but what we do know now is that it is neither expedient nor even "conventional". |
In fact, Carl Sagan, the Pulitzer prize winning scientist, hypothesised that our ancestors, the early mammals, didn't quite sleep at night. They slept during the day and hunted in the night, even as their enemies, the reptiles, lay immobilised in, literally, cold sleep. |
"Our Mesozoic scene has a curious vampiric quality with the carnivorous reptiles hunting the smart sleeping mammals by the day, and the carnivorous mammals hunting the stupid immobile reptiles by night," Sagan speculated in The Dragons of Eden. |
Now, about two million years later, as I set the alarm clock for midnight to follow in the steps of India's teeming BPOwallahs, I'm ready to throw arguments back at anyone accusing them of "unhealthy lifestyles". |
The BPO industry employs 3,48,000 people in the country. A new report by Gartner, according to The Economist, says this is likely to touch one million by 2009. And this is just a fraction of young, ambitious Indians working at night, in shifts, or simply late. |
Like them, I'm scouting around to see what's on offer in the dark "" quick bites by the roadside; after all, there's a whole new economy that's operational keeping the industry fed and watered. |
And even as BPO administrators say their employees are well catered via the (predictable) pantries that operate in their labyrinthine offices, we find, au contrarie, that India loves its post-midnight, pre-dawn meals piping hot, if a little lacking in hygiene... |
PARANTHAS & NOUVEAU MELA It is only dire necessity that will bring anyone here. In a service lane in Noida's Sector 16, in the wee hours, this is the first thought that comes to mind. The wide-eyed teen, part of our motley group that has volunteered to come along for this particular adventure, sighs, "... But I had expected something a little more sophisticated." |
Standing between a dump and a drain (okay, both are small and not that offensive), we are rubbing our assorted eyes and battling mosquitoes and wondering at the kind of people who visit places like these at hours like these. Apparently many do. As we stand hesitating on the type of paranthas (aloo, egg) to order, or even whether to, hungry hoardes descend on the men rolling out the dough, beating eggs in a steel tumbler, and working their skillets under the open sky. |
Cars, cabs and bikes continue to pull over and the man doling out coupons (Rs 10 for aloo parantha, Rs 15 for egg) is kept busy. Paper plates are strewn all around, testimony to the business done each night. "Yes, it is a hotspot, the only one in Noida," our young guide informs us. If you want variety, there is a kathi-roll vendor nearby, who has extended his repertoire to momos recently. |
"Will I die, if I try one?" another member of our group says longingly. None of the men "" no there aren't any women here apart from us; we don't recommend there be any "" gorging on the paranthas and rolls seem any worse for their effort. And if someone seems to be doubling up, it is only because of, er, other indulgences. "I am sorry, I am drunk... I had a beer," says the chap who had earlier identified himself as a BPOwallah. Time to flee. |
Sophisticated souls could check out the buffet at the MBD Radisson instead. S-18, its coffee shop, serves a midnight buffet (Rs 350 weekdays, Rs 500 weekends) complete with live cooking "" piping hot dosas and paranthas"" a choice of biryanis and street food. |
The idea is to make this a "destination for late night eating like the Moolchand paranthawallah, to whom people from all over Delhi flock", explains executive chef Arun Tyagi. |
But from the suburb through the city, we are not stopping at Moolchand. That is yesterday's favourite. As are the IIT and ITO paranthawallahs, and sundry biryani shops in medieval Nizamuddin and Jama Masjid. Instead, we stop at the nouveau hotspot, the Comesum Cafe at Nizamuddin railway station. |
From ice-chuskis to snacks, the cafe has it all "" the ambience is that of a bustling mela, complete with vapour-cooled outdoor seating. And Delhi's couples, cosy newlyweds included, are making the most of it. |
The "Hyderabadi" biryani is in great demand and when I look a little worried at its diminishing quantities, the man behind the counter smiles reassuringly: "Don't worry, I will be here till early morning." |
But Gurgaon is where the "it" crowd heads. As maniac Qualises overtake us only to stop at tiny boiled-eggs-and-bread vends, the energy of the place is perceptible even at this hour. Glass, chrome and empty stretches glisten and we glide into the porch at the Bristol. The hotel has a fairly popular buffet till 3.00 am "" a smattering of Indian and Continental dishes at a very un-five-star Rs 200. |
"Our busiest time is between 2.00-3.30 am when the shifts give over," a spokesperson later tells me. The night manager is more effusive, "It is not just the BPO crowd, you know," he says, "but also people in the hospitality industry... after shifts, we often party with friends from other hotels." |
With Delhi dhabas under increased police scrutiny and Noida offering few venues, Gurgaon is where the party is for everyone who works till late and is in no particular hurry to go home. "Even people who work in Noida come to Gurgaon after work," says Ganesh Naraynan, a BPO employee. |
Restaurants and clubs like Zaika, Caves and Suburbia are popular, particularly on Friday nights when senior "manager or director level people" give parties for their teams. |
"I have even got job offers at such informal gatherings," Narayanan adds. But if it is really late, Billu Dhaba or Mukesh ka Dhaba next to Convergys are favourites. Actually, Mukesh's is just one of the four dhabas in a row, the menu offered at each remains the same "" Maggi, chowmein, paranthas... And this is one place in the NCR where women feel at ease even this late. |
Till recently, the Park Plaza hotel offered a biryani buffet for Rs 111 but such value-for-money feasting has now been cut short. Customers must choose a la carte for the same money. Any takers for a Rs 111 parantha? |
But what happens when you want a drink? Most bars and clubs in the NCR close relatively early (by 2.00 am or so on weekdays), but young BPO employees have found a (not strictly legal) way out. There are some houses, sources say, in residential colonies near offices, that can be rented and where the owner provides you with liquor and food. |
In contrast, Bangalore, say employees, has legal shops from where you can buy your booze till late "" and many apparently even have "underground" cafes. But we are getting ahead of our journey. |
BADE MIYANS & AMERICAN DESIS "Please don't take my picture, my mother doesn't know I am here," a youngster in Delhi, getting his kicks the old-fashioned way (he is swigging rum and cola out of a plastic bottle) pleads with us. |
In bindaas Mumbai, this is a non-issue. No one dares, or cares, to moral police anyone. Which is why drinking and dining late are less surreptitious. But forget Olive, Indigo and Rain. For non-filmstars, non-business magnates, non-fashion designers (but some of these too), a good night's entertainment can simply be prawn koliwada with beer even in these days of fancy mojitos and sangrias. |
Gokul's is a pub popular with students, young executives and anyone on a shoestring budget and does brisk business till the wee hours. From here, many make their way to Bade Miyan in Colaba, only there's no need to mention the address. |
Everyone knows Bade Miyan "" it's even in the Lonely Planet Guide. Cars and scooters crowd the bylane out of which the eatery operates, the smell of petrol and kebabs a heady invite. Like its counterpart Karim's in Delhi, Bade Miyan is a great leveller, its chicken-baida roti (chicken-egg roll) the stuff of legend (and strictly ignore the scurrying rats). Baghdadi is Bade Miyan's less touristy cousin and stays open till 3.00 am. |
Hotel coffee shops are, of course, supposed to remain open 24-hours. But the most you get, post-midnight, is food from the cold kitchen. Trattoria is one five-star exception. It opened at the Taj President over two decades ago and remains a popular post-party destination with the south Mumbai crowd. Malad's BPO crowd, however, is headed elsewhere. |
At Pop Tate's, the Jazz-by-the-night, Jaswinder-by-the-day call-centre types can live out their pseud-identities a bit longer over American-style junk food. Ice-cream on Marine Drive was never better than at Bachelor's that serves fresh fruit concoctions (including a green chilli flavour). |
From Mumbai to Pune is a zip through, both physically and metaphorically, though the later depends on which Pune you are talking about. There are two, like everyone who has been there knows; the conservative Maharashtrian hub where 9.00 pm is "late" enough for a reprimand, and the |
Pune of young immigrants who rue the fact that so little happens so late. Lucky, a favourite with hip late-nighters from Fergusson and the Film Institute, famous for its chai and bread pudding, closed recently, prompting a big hue and cry. But there are compensations: Anda bhurji near the Deccan bus depot, mutton curry at the Irani joints near the station, Cafe Blue Nile's biryani. |
In "pure veg" Ahmedabad, biryani is not the easiest thing to come by, but late night eating, surprisingly, is. The most visible symbol of changing lifestyles is the "larri" here, the pushcart that offers Gujarati, Maharashtrian and mishmash (read Chinese, what else?) snacks, seducing an army of workers, students and loiterers from that staple of Indian culture""mom's cooking. |
In fact, Ahmedabad could be the Bangkok of India, a city where fewer people are now inclined to cook at home and happy to make do with the misar (the Maharashtrian pohe), vada pau and sev puri the larris send their way. |
The business of eating carries on till fairly late but if you are looking at strictly post-midnight, there is an entire market to satiate your cravings. The Municipal Market, we are told, has everything from pizzas and burgers to south Indian "" but all veg, like we said. |
BIRYANI BUFFETS FOR THE FAMILY For serious non-veg stuff, you will have to head Hyderabad-wards. What's more, post midnight biryani buffets are not an aberration here but part of the mainstream culture. Families after families, children, often veiled women in tow, refuse to call it a day "" or night "" and merrily feast on their choice of biryani. |
The young, on the other hand, have discovered pubbing, a relatively recent change in lifestyle imported with the software boom. A friend recalls desperately hunting for beer in Cyberabad a couple of years ago, only to have to make his way to the Kakatiya Sheraton for a pricey sip. |
Today, such experiences are rare "" at least three pubs are now firmly part of the youth lexicon And drinking over, what else but a biryani buffet? |
But no post-midnight journey can be complete without a long halt at Bangalore. And pause we must, not just to gorge on what are possibly some of the best opportunities in the country but also for some thought. |
Anshumali Saxena, a senior manager at Technovate, is not amused by our wanderings. "You know, this is serious business," he tells me sternly; "journalists can work out of home, but no BPO employee can afford to fall ill after eating at all these places. We eat in office," he says. |
Or perhaps they all have iron stomachs. Because that's what you need at Kabab "Kornar" on St Mark's Road. This is one of Bangalore's favourite late stopovers. Waiters shove their grubby menus into the car even before you have parked, but this and a million other incivilities must be pardoned for some juicy kebabs "" particularly since no one's heard of bird flu. |
Further north, on the J C Nagar main road, an old man directs you to an autorickshaw in a bylane. From its open back, where a stove burns furiously, you are offered noodles, bread-omelette, tea and cigarettes. |
The more respectable head towards V V Puram, a traditional stronghold in south Bangalore. Here, behind a temple, a street flickers to life as the sun goes down, and is soon packed with tiny shops that will dish out delicacies right up to 2.00 am. |
On the menu is the best of Bangalore's tradition "" varieties of dosas, idlis, vadas, akki rotis (rice-flour based), ragi-rotis, pongal, curd rice "" but also, inevitably, Chinese. At Ibrahim Sahib Street, there are no bastardised flavours, only dosas as they were meant to be before keema and spring onions wormed their way into the pancake. And you can smell them from miles away. Which is why, perhaps, no one asks for directions to Murugan's. |
Still later, an attendant in an illegal parking lot near Empire Hotel, Central Street, is keeping busy. He will be handsomely compensated for the vigil: On an average weeknight, more than 150 vehicles stop here; on weekends 350. The Empire hotel serves a cross between north and south Indian food "" the Hyderabadi biryani being the bridge. |
CAL CALLING, FINGERTIPS DIAL... From Avadh to Delhi to Hyderabad to Kolkata, if there's one traveller that has traversed all of Bharat Mata, it is the biryani. And like a traveller gone native, the biryani imbibes local textures, flavours, colours. |
In Kolkata, dare not think "Hyderabadi". It has to be Shiraz's. One place that will serve you this, all night through, is Fingertips in the IT hub, Sector V. The modest 50-seater has everything from pizzas (a tie-up with Domino's) to Chinese (Blossom's). |
Another favourite with the night shifts (there are close to 20,000 BPO professionals) is the Azad Hind Dhaba that opened a branch here a year ago. It doesn't remain open all night, but at 2.30 am it closes late enough for the graveyard shift and opens early at 5.30 am for eager beavers to catch aloo-puri before work. |
Otherwise, cosmo Cal remains more a snacks rather than a dinner place. Blame it on the sahibs and their suppers "" by 12.30 am, Park Street and Tangra have all gone to bed. |
GOOD NIGHT! Chennai has also gone to bed. There are roadside eateries that do roaring business with dosas, paranthas and kurma, idlis, but uppity executives will not be caught dead at one. |
In the end, in this bastion of culture, amma's cooking reigns supreme, as also her words, "Early to bed, early to..." Who is to say, she may be right! |
(Fellow diners: Raghuvir Badrinath and Praveen Bose in Bangalore, Arati Menon Carroll in Mumbai, Gargi Gupta in Kolkata, and S Bridget Leena in Chennai) |