It was probably the sweetest little joint for a cuppa chai and a hot maska bun. But Bastani on JJS Marg — more familiar as Dhobi Talao — seems to be doomed to closure. Look at its edifice, proudly blaring that it’s a treasure trove of cakes, and you’ll whiff a hard luck story of the few Irani cafes in the city.
Quite a few documentaries and news reports have lamented the near-extinction of the cafes. So perhaps I’m not saying anything new. Yet, the news is that there’s hope. Periodically, I hear that after a nine-year-hiatus, Bastani may rise from the proverbial ashes to add to the cheer and bustle of Dhobi Talao. The reasons for Bastani, downing its shutters, was said to be a fall-out between its partners – familial disputes which had contributed considerably to the near-extinction of tea-spots which were affordable and relaxed. The late M.F. Husain would sit for hours at Bastani and at the century-old Kyani restaurant, which is touchwood still alive, just across the road.
Another popular café, Brabourne has packed up, yielding to a bake-and-cake shop which in turn, has been replaced by a furniture showroom. The Hyderabad-Sindh restaurant, famed for its fingerlicking-good tandoor cuisine was replaced by a boisterous bar, but steep hikes in the liquor serving licence fees, stole the fizz from the beer and rum, the two most fast-sellers in the neighbourhood — inhabited by both white and blue collar workers. The bar’s gone, too.
A small shop specialising in Goan music has survived. So has the delectably named Lovely Country Liquor Bar, and a stationery stall, which is festooned with balloons and buntings, come X’mas month.
Occasionally, the lane comes abuzz with stories about the re-opening of Bastani, and also the extinct Naaz Café at Hanging Gardens. Without Naaz, Mumbai’s prime tourist spot is, in fact, as meaningless as Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark.
I don’t know if the city fathers will ever take their words seriously about bringing Naaz back to life. But who knows? They just might, come the next general elections. Till then, just remember the days that were.