The Shetty’s Shade

“How many candidates do we have, Keshav?” Susheela peered at him over her glasses. “Just one, madam.”

Susheela’s face scrunched up as she let out a loud sigh.

 ‘The Shetty’s Shade’, was her father’s dream. After his death, she had taken over the reins.

Initially, her father, Ramanand Shetty, had started renting rooms in their spacious tiled-roof house for additional income. The paddy fields' income was insufficient to keep the joint family going. With time, the joint family disintegrated into a nuclear family of three members: Ramanand, his wife Ratna, and daughter Susheela.

Mulki*had mushroomed into a hub for surfing. Ramanand took advantage of this and converted the house into ‘The Shetty’s Shade’, a homestay. Ratna took care of the kitchen. With a degree in hotel management, Susheela took care of administration. With their help, Ramanand strived to steer it forward.

The sound of swirling waves, the smell of the sea air through the bedroom window, groves of tall coconut trees, and the Mangalorean culinary marvels drew people to their homestay.

Ramanand wanted Susheela to stay back with her husband after marriage. “Susheela, the homestay is not just a business for me. This ancestral house is where my heart and soul lie. Our house was, is, and should always bustle with people. Come what may it should never be shut down,” Ramanand pronounced as tears lined his eyelashes.

Susheela and her husband helped Ramanand to keep the homestay up and going. They appointed Keshav as a helper to do odd jobs.

Susheela was blessed with a daughter, Megha. When Megha was just 5, Susheela’s husband succumbed to a severe heart attack. Susheela immersed her grief in the renovation of the homestay.

Megha grew up in the loving care of her grandmother and picked up the nuances of cooking early on in life. Megha was strong-willed and had a mind of her own. Over the years, differences grew between the mother-daughter duo. One fine day after a serious altercation Megha left home never to return. Ratna passed away pining for her granddaughter. Susheela was crestfallen. The flicker in her heart to keep the homestay running kept her going.

It has been 26 years since.

The aftermath of COVID-19 led to a decline in business. Susheela felt her life was in a maze. However hard she tried to find a way out she felt lost. One after the other her staff had resigned, the house needed repairs, and with no cash inflow, she had to invest her savings. Competitors were using social media to garner interest in their homestays/resorts but she relied heavily on word-of-mouth advertising.

 She placed advertisements in the local newspaper for a chef after he resigned.

If things continued this way they had to shut down ‘The Shetty’s Shade’, in its shade she hid her sorrow. Tears appeared at the corners of her eyes. This didn’t go unnoticed by Keshav. He knew that if the homestay shut down, she would collapse.

Keshav had spent most of his life working for the resort. Slowly over time he had won Susheela’s confidence and was now her assistant.

Seeing his madam so distraught, Keshav thought this was the time to make the call without letting Susheela get even a whiff of it.

“This is my number. Don’t hesitate to call me when the need arises,” her words echoed in his ears.

*

“Madam, shall I fix the interview with her tomorrow?” Keshav tried to lift Susheela’s broken spirits.  “The candidate is a lady?” Susheela’s eyebrows rose high.

“Yes, madam. She has worked for 2 years in the US at an Indian restaurant. I will fix the interview for tomorrow at 9,” Keshav suggested.

“I am not very sure, Keshav if she will be able to cook our local cuisines. But we don’t have a choice. After the interview I would like to taste the dishes, she cooks. Our homestay is popular for meen gassi*, kori rotti* and appam* and if she churns out these authentic dishes then we hire her,” Susheela asserted with a quick nod.

Clasping his palms together Keshav looked skywards. He wished and hoped their plan worked.

*

“Good morning, ma’am,” drawled a chirpy voice. One look at her face and Susheela froze. Something about this girl reminded her of the past. “This is Chetana Fernandes. She is the one I mentioned yesterday,” Keshav introduced.

Curly black hair bordered her small, dusky face. Her big round expressive eyes kept moving around trying to take in the surroundings. The buck tooth above her left canine peeped each time she smiled and the long sharp nose reminded Susheela of Megha.

A soft cough broke into her reverie.

“Why do you choose to work here in such a small town? Don’t you think you will have better opportunities in the city?” Susheela queried.

“I have lived in the US all my life. After working there, I felt something was amiss. I had come on a holiday with my friend whose parents live in Mangalore. The serene beaches and beautiful temples captured my senses. I thought this is where I belong. My friend’s parents told me of this job opportunity,” Chetana explained. Susheela’s experienced eyes caught the earnestness and the truth in her solemn face.

“Youngsters these days are so whimsical. They are never sure of what they want to do. Anyways, can you cook authentic Mangalorean cuisine? Our homestay caters to food enthusiasts who wish to savor coastal dishes.”

“I have grown up eating Mangalorean food. Since both my parents are working, they hired a Mangalorean housemaid. I was so taken in by her cooking that I learned all her recipes. You name the dishes and I can cook them,” Chetana asserted confidently.

The next day, Susheela was served appam, piping hot chicken curry, steamed brown rice, and meen gassi. Susheela’s senses took in the color, aroma, and taste of the food. The appams were soft and fluffy like a duck’s down and crispy at the edges. With one bite Susheela knew that Chetana had not added yeast but used fermented coconut water. Susheela savored every bite of the appam dipped in the spicy, tangy coconut gravy. The gravies were enriched with the right proportion of basic spices. It was ground fine. She had used the fresh catch of the day for the gassi. Flavors of red chilies and tamarind erupted in her mouth tickling her taste buds. It was just the way her Amma used to cook. After a hearty meal, Susheela looked up at Chetana, “Welcome to ‘The Shetty’s Shade’.”

A broad smile flashed across Chetana’s face. Keshav clapped his hands in glee.

It took a few months for words to spread about the homestay’s delicious fare. Chetana would mingle with the guests during meal times, taking their feedback. She also ensured guests updated reviews on social media.

Susheela was drawn to the young chef who brought with her good fortune to her homestay.

 The stubborn homestay owner easily gave in to Chetana’s suggestions.

“I will use mud pots to make gravies to enhance an earthy flavor. Let’s have a seafood fest every month. Let’s schedule a few days for traditional dishes like Mangalore buns*, Golibaje*, and a variety of leaf-wrapped desserts,” Susheela wondered how the chef knew such detailed nitty-gritty of Mangalorean cuisine.

Chetana invited a few influencers to create digital content not only on the homestay but also on the beaches in and around Mulki. The reels caught the attention of the corporates. Some of them booked the homestay for their team-building activities.

Seeing the homestay buzzing with activity, Susheela was delirious. Tears of joy dropped down her cheeks. Now she no longer wanted to hide in its shade, she wanted to rejoice in its warmth.

Susheela hugged Chetana and muttered, “Thank you, for all that you have done. I wish my daughter was with me today.”

“Daughter? I didn’t know you had one,” queried Chetana.

“Now I realize how foolish I was to impose restrictions on my daughter, Megha. I miss her so much. I wish she would come back to me. Of late I have been craving for her. I am afraid she will refuse to come back to me even if I call her,” sniffed Susheela. This was the first time she had revealed her inner turmoil to someone.

Chetana hugged and comforted her.

“Megha is an Electronics engineer. I wanted Megha to stay with me just like I stayed back with Papa. But she wanted to pursue her dreams. She wanted to marry her collegemate. I didn’t agree to it as he was from a different community. She chose to move on in life and left home. She had come a couple of times to seek forgiveness but I didn’t relent. Now I don’t know her whereabouts. Putting the past behind I am now ready to forgive her. I would do anything to have her back in my life,” Susheela sobbed.

That night, Chetana called her mom, “Mom. It’s time for you to come and meet my grandmom.”

From the other side, she could hear her mother’s delirious voice, “Thank you, Chetana, for helping me patch up things with Amma and for saving our homestay. We must thank Keshav too. It was his call that made me hatch this plan.”

Megha felt elated about returning to her mother and ‘The Shetty’s Shade’.

Glossary:

Mulki:  A quaint little town in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka

Meen Gassi: Fish curry in Tulu (the language of people living in Mangalore)

Kori rotti: Chicken curry eaten with thin, roasted rice flakes

Appam: A bowl-shaped pancake made from fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk

Mangalore buns: Soft, fluffy puris made using all-purpose flour and bananas

Goli baje: Deep-fried dumplings made using all-purpose flour, curd, and spices.