Cuttack: The shop attracts you with its very name… ‘Gabbar Tea Stall’. Owner Ranjan Parida informs that he has chosen such a name inspired by Akshay Kumar-starrer Gabbar Is Back. For those who are not aware, ‘Gabbar’ became a legend in the Indian film industry, after Amjad Khan played a character of the same name in the magnum opus Sholay.
There have been many talented actors who have portrayed roles of antagonists in Indian films. But for all of them the benchmark has been ‘Gabbar’ portrayed by Amjad.
But then is Ranjan only inspired by the film Gabbar Is Back? Well at the back of his mind, Sholay must have also lingered while he was naming the different varieties of beverages at his stall situated at the Mahanadai Vihar locality here.
There is the ‘Basanti special coffee’, the ‘Gabbar Lassi’ and the ‘Jai-Veeru special Maggi noodles’. All are named after characters from Sholay and hence the film must have also had a huge influence on Ranjan.
The role of ‘Basanti’ was portrayed by Hema Malini while the ‘Jai-Veeru’ characters were portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra respectively.
Gabar tea stallBut then the names don’t only attract customers. The quality and standard of products also play a major role to those visiting the shop. The shop offers over 50 varieties of tea with prices ranging between Rs 10 and Rs 100. Among the varieties on offer for tea lovers are ‘kadak masala tea’, ‘tandoori tea’, ‘chocolate masala te’a, ‘tandoori chocolate tea’ and ‘kuladwala tea’ in its menu for you.
And if you have a fascination for coffee then also this shop is the perfect destination. There are variants like ‘masala coffee’, ‘hot coffee’, ‘naughty coffee’, ‘Basanti special coffee’, ‘Basanti special tandori coffee’ and ‘smoky choco orange coffee’.
Similarly, here one can have mango, pineapple, almond, litchi, banana and green apple flavoured lassis.
Ranjan worked at a private bank after he completed his education from the Information, Technology and Management (ITM) Department of Ravenshaw University in 2013. However he was not satisfied with his job. Quitting his job, he opened the tea stall just few months ago. Initially dad Bhagu Charan and mother Tunilata used to help him. Now with customers and demand increasing, he has employed two persons.
Ranjan said he also wanted to do something different. After achieving success with the shop, Ranjan now wants to sell his products online. “I have to sell my tea variants online so that my customers can have tea sitting at their offices and homes,” he stated.
Apart from managing his shop, Ranjan also conducts awareness campaigns on the harmful effects of smoking, the use of plastic and drunk driving. He also runs another campaign to prevent violence against woman.
PNN
