HYDERABAD: Until recently, the only business in the city which went on uninterrupted whether there was rain or curfew was that of Hyderabadi Biryani. Even bifurcation of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh could not affect the sale of biryani in the city. Thus, an off-season for biryani could very well be termed as figment of imagination.
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent ‘surgical strike’ carried out on black money in the form of demonetisation has hit hard even the most favoured and exotic delicacy of the city of pearls.
A noticeable drop in the number of customers has been registered at all major food chains like Paradise, Bawarchi and Cafe Bahar, which are famous for serving mouth-watering varieties of biryani including the Kachchi (raw) Biryani and the Pakki (cooked) Biryani. There has been a considerable drop in the flow of customers at both inside (sitting) and takeaway counters of these restaurants.
Neither did the regular queue for a table exist nor did the waiters have their hands full which is always the case.
One could guess from the sight of the intact chickens in the grilling machines that sales are not smooth. “The Rs 100 notes that banks provide get over in two hours. Instead, we have to depend on the customers for change. Never did I imagine a day when we would not be able to provide change for our customers. Despite this, we expect them to come to us with their debit cards,” said a manager from one of these chains.
Biryani business has witnessed almost 50 per cent dip in sales in the past 15 days because of cancellation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, a owner of one of these restaurants informed. He further felt that only those hotels which have swiping machines would survive the present crisis.
So far the clientele of all these food chains mainly constitute of the everyday customers who are either students or employees from the surrounding areas. But, even they cannot escape the ‘pay and eat’ policy that has been designed keeping the recent developments in hand.
“Though it might feel unpleasant to clear the cheque before having a satisfying meal, it may actually be a viable course of action to avoid any unseen complications that can make ones day worse,” a Sudheer Kumar, a waiter of a restaurant said.
According to him, the Rs 2,000 notes are definitely being accepted but only in the case when the bill is at least Rs 700. Hopefully, the entry of the new Rs 500 notes will bring things back to normal and families can once again have a rewarding feast, he added.
“This move of the government is no doubt shocking. But, it seems that it is robbing us of our sense of repose. Each day feels like a drag, consuming our time and most of all our energy. Nevertheless, one would agree that a plate of hot biryani served with chilled Thumbs Up could make all this go away but that pops the currency question all over again,” K Ravinder, a software engineer, who frequently visits these food chains to enjoy the delicious taste of the Hyderabadi biryani, commented with a smile on his face.