Mysore :

You can always trust women to do things unique and differently as women and multi-tasking are two words that have always gone hand-in-hand. Their dynamic ability to juggle between altered roles at a time is one quality that helps them find themselves in great places.

Today, we will take you through the story of two such dynamic ladies who have been successfully juggling between three different interesting roles each of which hold a unique place in their lives.

Meet Nandita Nagaraj and Deepha Chengapa. This energetic duo has chosen three different things do. One for passion, one for soul and another for living.

Their passion has given birth to a very uniquely functioning café called Chai Patthe; they teach English to little children at a government school to please their souls and for a living, the ladies are into setting up solar power plants which they have already done for several buildings across the country.

Let’s talk about Chai Patthe. A one-year-plus-old eatery with a very different touch to it for the way it functions. Chai Patthe is Nandita and Deepha’s dream-child, prepared and sold where are a whopping 70 different varieties of Tea along with some very interesting items to munch on. And all that’s available at the place is all the more special, for everything prepared there is made by no cooks but Nandita and Deepha themselves.

Walk into this cosy home with bean bags and cane seats within the rooms, relaxing upon which anyone can relish a simple Maggi to pasta and burgers or sandwich to cookies and brownies, in a very homely atmosphere. What’s more, top them up with some delicious varieties of tea which gets served to you in attractive earthen cutlery, and chances are, you’ll end up spending more than half a day at the place relaxing.

That’s not all. The place has much more than these to keep you at it. Book lovers visiting Chai Patthe can feast reading books from a mini library that’s maintained at the place, with a few but interesting books of varied genres. Those of who love playing games can enjoy playing uno, ludo, chess or crosswords with friends while their food and drink orders are being taken care of by the hosts.

“Our intention of starting Chai Patthe was not just for profit but to provide the visitors a nice and homely atmosphere where they could relax and enjoy a few simple and peaceful moments. Hence, we do not run it like a hotel. All things done and sold here are home-like,” explains Deepha, adding, “We also have a thatched roof seating where people are free to come over and celebrate their special days, read books, paint an art piece, write college records or even do school home works. We are glad we have such visitors too.”

The place which is open between 10.30 am and 7.30 pm daily, remains closed on the days when the ladies are busy with their power plant works for which they tend to travel outside the city. And before 10.30 am each day, Nandita and Deepha are in the Government School, where they teach the children.

“We do not bother if we have to close the cafe at times as our customers who are regular know the way we function. We are very happy working this way and have no plans to expand, as we are into it just out of passion,” says Nandita.

They so prove that they started Chai Patthe for just passion that they have never advertised about the cafe anywhere till date. All the popularity they have gained is by just word of mouth.

Chai Patthe is a non-smoking, wi-fi enabled zone and is one lovely place where any visitor can walk-in directly to the kitchen. “And as our customers, most of whom are acquaintances, know it is just the two of us who cook, they wait patiently until their orders are placed,” says Deepha. “And it is lovely when some of our friends who visit us even help us in the kitchen,” she gushes, who freshly makes the home-baked cakes served at Chai Patthe at her home daily. And all the health conscious ones will love the cooking here as the women use nothing but brown breads and buns and only olive oil to cook dishes and believe in keeping the place plastic-free. Everything here is served in earthen containers, porcelain and glassware. We indeed need to applaud the women for so successfully juggling between so many things at one time. Chai Patthe is located at Jayalakshmipuram [0821-4195033].— AN

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General  News / June 14th, 2014