This Navroze, going off the beaten track

Imagine scalding the feet running over hot coals to collect birthday cake fresh from your favourite oven Girish Samant did so as a Goregaon child Sprinting with unwise excitement across the rail tracks skirting his home to reach Persian BakeryThough the cityrsquos first Zoroastrian Irani tea shop reportedly opened in early 19th centuryDhobi Talao the 1870s Iran drought brought a major wave of faminefled immigrants docking at Bombay shores That influx birthed several small corner shops stocking food toiletries and basic ldquosardikhaasi ni golirdquoAt Persian lawyer Firdause Irani narrates how his father Shapur arrived as a sevenyearold with his father from Khoramshar in the mid1930s Twenty years later he introduced Goregaon to soft mawa cake and crisp nankhatai A superbly spry 92 Firdausersquos mother Sabar still sits at the counter dailyGoregaon resident Girish Samant with Sabar Firoza and Firdause Irani at Persian Bakery PicShadab KhanSome suburbs south Khar visitors catch the noisy flutter of pigeons winging around the Kabutar Khana that sprang up in the 1990s Right across Prince of Wales Restaurant rose at Sherkat Manzil in 1950 Oldtimers remember relishing its 10paise chai in the 1970s This was Bombay buff and police historian Deepak Raorsquos first brush with Irani joints ldquoMy dad and I enjoyed omelette pao but the eyes popped greedily wide on seeing big glass barnis stuffed to the lids with lollipops Ordering two we got a third generously thrown inrdquoIf that suburban corner acknowledged colonial power Rezashah Co subsequently Golden Goose Bar facing Grant Road station presented a more rooted shopfront Numismatist Rointon Andhyarujinarsquos father Hormajshah procured the premises in Union Building from the proprietor of a local pickle brand called Bhonsle cha LonchaHormajshah came to name his venture interestingly The year he added a medical store on Sleater Road ndash after the grocery egg market dairy farm vermicelli outlet kerosene depot and sandalwood shop ndash 1941 marked the ascension of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to the throne as Shah of IranldquoMy Udwadabred dad initially spoke only four English words lsquoYes No Sorry Thank yoursquo But he ended up proficient enough with the language to help Congressman and former Governor of Sikkim Homi Taleyarkhan script sharp political campaignsrdquo says RointonHormajshah Andhyarujina with son Rointon and Girdharlal Mehtaji at Rezashah Co Grant Road in 1975A hop away at Persian Restaurant Abodh Aras was a regular with his grandfather ldquoWorking for Welfare of Stray Dogs I experienced the kindness these spaces extended towards street animals Welcoming them proprietors phoned us for their treatment in Bastani Britannia Brabourne Mondegar Ideal Corner B Merwan Majestic and ParadiserdquoThe communityrsquos strong sense of enterprise propelled 18yearold Khodabux Merwan Nasrabadi from a fruit farming clan in Jupar near Kerman to set up Cosmopolitan Restaurant and Stores at Prarthna Samaj after acquiring Good Luck Restaurant and Famous Pharmacy nearby Before his astonished eyes without a worry in the 1930s calorieunconscious world Cosmopolitan customers dunked Polsonbuttered buns in condensed milk till each heavy tin was scraped emptyKhodabuxrsquos son Rustom has offered an account of the years of slog in iranichaimumbaicom ldquoWe baked biscuits in 1956 with no experience For three months batches prepared were like wood and we threw them in the sea At closing time 11 orsquoclock one night I thought I must keep trying By Godrsquos grace the kharis turned out beautifully We then began doing plum cakes and currant cakes I just taught myselfAbodh Aras of WSD with Kaluram in Cafe de la Paix GirgaumldquoThe success of these places on street corners Look Iranis mostly didnrsquot care what Indians said Hindu businessmen considered corner plots ldquopanvatirdquo inauspicious they did what they had to For instance my greatgrandfather had a donkey which wouldnrsquot pass over a bridge afraid the river was too full of water Grandfather carried the donkey on his shoulders That was the mentality They always found solutions to any problem Resourceful people and very very practicalrdquoMade practical if not born so As young Ghulam Hussein from Yazd mdash who went on to establish Light of Bharat Shivaji Parkrsquos sole Irani cafe mdash discovered on losing his father at the age of 16 When he expressed a wish to study in the city of dreams an uncle slapped him hard ldquoHis Mama put him to work immediately Thatrsquos why throughout his life in small ways he supported kids wanting to learnrdquo explains Reza Irani whose father Mohammad Jawad Saqi is Ghulam Husseinrsquos son ldquoAn engineering student from UP eventually doing well for himself lived in paying guest accommodation opposite our restaurant He told us Ghulam Hussein took care of all his meals during exams Grandpa was happy with the interaction and love a simple Irani man like him received in the middle of this educated Maharashtrian neighbourhoodrdquoAmong a fistful of cafes serving Sultani Kepsa rich biryani derived from the Saudi Arabian dish Kabsa Light of Bharat sells the double mutton raan thaal as a popular Navroze order Its everyday fare fuses flavours of Sulaimani mintlemon brews Surti green chilli eggs garam masalaspiced Hyderabadi omelettes and Szechwan omelettes The atmospheric interior with a cabinet of vintage cameras and teacups arranged in artful pyramids have attracted film shoots including the Amitabh BachchanAkshay Kumar starrer AankhenWhen not yet quite Big B Bachchanrsquos Kemprsquos Corner hangout was Allah Beli restaurant currently the Gangar Opticians showroom Here he and good friend Anwar Ali comedian Mehmoodrsquos brother cracked corny jokes over frugal plates of plain brun maska in their days as struggler buddies Paid a few hundred bucks for eyeblink roles as boys singing and drinking in the 1970 MerchantIvory production Bombay Talkie they celebrated with a classic Kheema pao washed down with paani kam chai