The Legend of Vada Pav

Any discussion about the mega city Mumbai can never be complete without a mention of the Vada Pav. Such has been the importance of this simple snack.

We need to thank Ashok Vaidya, the founder of Vada Pav, who in the mid 60s, had set up the first Vada Pav stall outside Platform No.1 of the Dadar Railway Station. No one had imagined that this simple deep fried mashed potato dumpling sandwiched in a Pav (a bread bun, sliced in the centre to accommodate the dumpling), laced with some endearing chutneys and green chillies, would have such a lasting impact on the lives of all in Mumbai.

Be it the very rich, the poor or the middle class, Vada Pav had enticed the taste buds of all and it would not be wrong to say that this snack had the ability to dissolve the fault lines between a highly diverse society of the great megapolis. So it was rather impossible that Vada Pav could have escaped the  food lover in me and right from my childhood I became one of the millions of fans of this hot, spicy, zingy anytime snack.

I was to visit Mumbai after a long long time almost after a decade and a half or even more and trust me, the first thing on my mind was to have the Vada Pav. So the moment I landed in Mumbai and got into a cab, I asked the driver to stop over at any Vada Pav stall as I was desperate to have one. The driver belonged to a place on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. We got along well and our journey from the airport to South Mumbai began.

The monsoon was already well entrenched in Mumbai and the rains picked up as we started to move. While engaged in conversations with the driver I kept on reminding him  about the Vada Pav. It was a perfect weather for the Vada Pav and thinking of which my digestive enzymes were let loose in my stomach making a massive craving for the snack. But the rains were picking up and so was the wind and my driver  became more and more focussed on the road and gave a go by to a few of the stalls that came our way. I suspect, he was unable to gauge the intensity of my liking for Vada Pav.

But I could not resist further. My eyes were wide open and I was alert to the maximum. I noticed a stall and asked the driver to stop. It was raining heavily. He desisted but I sternly ordered him to stop. A bit upset the driver stopped with an irritant murmur, which I didn’t give an ear to, opened the door of the car, took my phone, and in the rain rushed towards the stall. The driver tried to stop me, may be he had an umbrella, but I was not listening. He shouted again “ Sahb ek mere liye bhi (Sir, one for me too)” with a wide grin on his face. He too wanted one and I was not surprised.

The  Vada Pavs were fantastic as usual. I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. The driver too could understand my love for the dish. In fact I was more happy than relieved of my craving. Such is the impact of Vada Pav. Over the years there have been several attempts to bring changes in the business model of Vada Pav and also there has been competition from large Burger franchises, but still they have not been able to dent the popularity of the roadside stalls and the charisma of the Vada Pav still lingers on. I hope this tradition continues generations after generations.

Long live the Vada Pav… A true legend.

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