Popular restaurants and food joints in Vadodara are doing their best to woo customers
Devanshi Joshi.Vadodara/DNA
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
When it is festival time, nothing can stop the food-loving Gujaratis from enjoying eating out. Not even global recession. Popular restaurants and food joints in Vadodara are doing their best to woo the customers too. Restaurants have special Diwali menus, themes and decorations and are offering special discount to attract foodies.City-based popular Gujarati restaurants have specially prepared Diwali menu, which include varieties of Gujarati farsan and sweets. Restaurants have found innovative ways to and some have even made changes in the interiors t
o provide a different ambience. A restaurant in Subhanpura area of the city has come up with food items such as 'kaka-bhatrija khichdi, derani-jethani dhokala, mama-bhanej mithai in their menu this season. “During Diwali people usually opt to go out for dinner or lunch to celebrate the festival with their family. This year we have introduced food items with new names,” said Bharat Patel, a restaurant owner. Restaurants in the city have added mehandi, tattoo and photograph counters for customers to make their visits memorable. Discount on take away and high bill amount are also being offered at various restaurants in the city. Restaurants, food outlets and food joints in mall have lit up with different Diwali themes and decorations. Restaurants on the highway and at remote areas are also becoming popular places to eat out. “Downturn in the market would not affect the restaurant and food business. If people cannot buy this season at least they can spend time with their loved once at restaurants and food joints. We have prepared a special menu for these five days of Diwali which includes varieties of dishes,” said Manoj Sharma a restaurant manager at Fatehgunj.As said by Hiral vyas a homemaker at Gotri, “Gujaratis are known for their love for food and when it is time of festivity, food tops the list for every Gujarati. Every year, during Diwali we try out different restaurants. The selection of the place depends on the food taste and the ambience.”
At first glance, it is unclear whether the image at Vadodaras Kirti Mandir is a picture or a rangoli. No wonder then that about 50,000 people throng the annual exhibition. This year, the exhibition will feature internationally renowned artists of Swastik Rangoli Kalakar group and will run from October 25 to October 31.While the rangolis are usually as varied as portraits, still life, land- and seascapes and wildlife, this year the groups 15 rangolis celebrate children as part of the Bal nirogi varsha. The rangolis, which are roughly 6ft x 4ft are made on hardwood boards and are the results of as many as 80 hours of labour. To aid better viewing, the organisers are setting up a continuous platform about 5ft high, in addition to ensuring proper lighting for all the pictures. Most artists here have been involved with rangolis for a number of years, but have had no formal training in the art. “Rangoli takes practice and passion,” says Abhay Gadkari, who has been practicing the art for 35 years. He has also been invited twice - in 2002 and 2003 - to participate in the Diwali Festival of Lights organized by Asia New Zealand Foundation, run by the government of New Zealand. “Our group was established in 1985, when the traditional art form was on the verge of being forgotten in the concrete jungles. There were no signs that the younger generation wanted to keep the art alive, so six artists decided to work collectively and launched the Swastik Rangoli Kalakar Group, Baroda,” adds.The art demands practice, says Rajendra Dindorkar, secretary of the group. “I like to innovate in rangoli forms. This year, I have made a hanging rangoli using an acrylic sheet. The rangoli is a mirror image, and the actual image is visible in the sheet above it,” he says.“Tremendous concentration is required to make a rangoli picture. There is no scope for correction, because once the colour is filled in, there is no way of removing it. We take care not to whistle while we work!” said, Raju Chauhan, whose rangoli depicts a girl child welcoming Diwali.“The most unfortunate aspect of this art is that it is so temporary. There is no way to preserve it. Once the rangoli exhibition is over, the hard boards are removed and all the rangoli powder falls to floor in a multicoloured mound. A picture that takes hours to create is lost in seconds,” the artist said.
risen to Rs440 a kg from Rs180 a kg. Similarly, aluminium has shot up to Rs225 a kg from Rs140 a kg last year. Naim Kapadwala, a fireworks manufacturer, told DNA: “The fireworks market across India has hit a rough patch due to the recession. Prices of raw materials imported from China and other parts of country have seen a tremendous rise. In addition, increased transportation and labour charges, and the burden of tax have also had an effect on the market. Prices of some crackers, like the roll, have doubled. All we can do is hope for good sales. Jayesh Shah, a crackers dealer, said: “The price rise has made the market very dull and dry this year. Customers are keeping themselves away from heavy purchases of crackers. Diwali is just a few days away and we have not seen as much sales as is usual.” Even customers who come to buy firecrackers are turned off by the high prices. Piyush Patel, who enjoys lighting fireworks, said, “Though my budget was around Rs1,000-Rs1,500 for crackers, I ended up spending Rs2,500 since I couldnt get even 50% of what I wanted on my budget. I bore this extra expenditure for the sake of my kids, but this has disturbed my Diwali budget, and I will need to cut on some other expenses.” Anuja Shah, a customer said, “Prices of fireworks increase each year but, this time, it is too high and has made a big hole in our pockets. It has become difficult to put aside hundreds of rupees for crackers, since all prices go beyond the thousands. Prices of commodities and other things are already disturbing our Diwali budget, and now the added prices of crackers have made Diwali a costly affair.”
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