TEA, DOSAS AND ECONOMY

Na: What do you want to question me about today?

Sh: No. This time, I have decided to start something.

Na: (surprised) You! What are you going to start? What do you know anything about starting something? I think…..

Sh: See that is it. If you really want to start something, don’t think too much! Don’t discuss the idea with anyone.

Na: Why? You see, unless you discuss, collect ideas from many and make a thorough study, it is risky to start anything.

Sh: That is why none of the ventures you boasted of ‘going to start’ has been started so far. Look at News Channel, look at democracy, look at the school – you keep on telling you are going to do this, you are going to do that – you have not started anything!

Na: But you know why any of those had been started. I discussed with you everything.

Sh: Yeh, yeh… you are good at discussing always. And telling everything impossible always. But what about doing it?

Na: Ok, let it be. What are you going to start?

Sh: Promise me you will not laugh….

Na: You know I don’t normally laugh at jokes.

Sh: But this is not a joke. I am going to start a restaurant!

Na: He he he he….. No, no! I am sorry. I did laugh for a moment though it is a joke.

Sh: I am telling you it is not a joke.

Na: How can it be not a joke? What do you know about running a restaurant? You don’t know the ropes.

Sh: What is there to know? I am not going to make a hi-fi restaurant. I am going to start a ‘Thattu kada’. Do you know what is a Thattu kada?

Na: Of course, I know. By googling, you can know anything about everything. These thattukadas give ‘melting-in-mouth kind of dosas’. Do you think you can make those tasty dosas? And is it enough running it only for about 5 or 6 hrs? They usually function from evening 7 to 1 O’clock in the night, no?

Sh: Of course it is enough. Haven’t you ever been to Khau Gallys? But I am going to run these thattukadas from 6 in the morning to 12 in the night.

Na: But how are you going to price the items? You don’t know anything about prices of anything. Do you know how much a coconut costs? You know you need coconuts to make those delicious chutneys? Do you know how much Dal costs? You have to learn everything first. Then you have to calculate expected income and expected expenses.

Sh: Those things I will leave to experts. And as one of them told me that there is no absolute price for anything. Everything is variable.

Na: What do you mean?

Sh: Think about a masala dosa. Why should a masala dosa cost 5 – 6 times in a five star restaurant compared to the price in a village tea shop?

Na: I don’t know why.

Sh: And a cup of tea on the railway platform cost 10 rupees while in some airport restaurant it costs 150 Rupees.

Na: No. tell me why. And where did you get the idea of Rupee?

Sh: You remember during the last holiday season, I was in India. The expert I talked to told me it was because it is the market economy. Market needs it, market is ready to pay for it and that is why it is so. Nobody will pay Rs 150 at your village tea shop.

Na: That is true. I have heard that it has got something to do with economy. But I don’t know what is market economy.

Sh: Why can’t they calculate actually the cost of making tea, adding every cost, divide it by average cups of tea you serve, add a 15% profit and sell tea at that price?

Na: You can do that in your Thattukada. Do you want to start it near any Airport?