Maulana Shaukat Ali Rod is a home to row after row of eateries, offering everything from seekh kebabs to mawa jalebis. But as one moves westward, the road, named after the Muslim leader of the Khilafat movement, is also populated with hardware and electronics stores. The road stretches up to Grant Road railway station, after it crosses the ‘Do Tanki Junction’ named after two tanks that many decades ago provided water near a former tram station. This street holds multiple eateries such as Star of U.P. Restaurant, Makka Sharif Hotel, Javed Restaurant, Shalimar dhaba, etc. that were established in 1443 AD and this practice is carried over by later generations since then. These eateries are largely occupied by the workers, poor, bus conductors and also people visiting the place from outside i.e. Worli, Dadar. The local people usually don’t prefer eating here. It is observed that restaurants are crowded in the night time as compared to daytime. These eateries start at 8 in the morning followed by people coming throughout the day in slots. They offer different types of thal both veg and non-veg which includes chicken thal, mutton thal, chinese, etc. The cost of the thal ranges between ₹70-80/- followed by ₹30/- and lastly a free meal especially given to the poor people, the ones in the nearby hospitals as a gesture of donation.
30 mein kya - kya aata hai?
Shalimar dhaba on the street
₹25/- meal being served @ Makka Sharif Hotel
Workers eating in slots @ Makka Sharif Hotel
Chicken rassa, rice and kheema @₹30/- @ Makka Sharif Hotel
Mutton biryani @₹35/- @ Javed Restaurant
Thal @Rs 25/- @ Star of U.P. Restaurant
Chicken biryani @₹30/- @ Star of U.P. Restaurant
Roti, loncha and kanda @₹25 @Star of U.P. Restaurant
Collaborative work: Aditya Mahajan, Dishita Galchat