His wife, Mona Gupta is on the verge of completing her PhD thesis. She helps Shezad between 'minding kids and research'. Shezad is in all praise of his wife's independent spirit - "Woh apne man ki rani hai, main apne man ka raja hoon".
They are really Royal dictating terms of their own lives. Hat's off to this couple!
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A PhD from JNU, he runs a dhaba on campus now
Shreya Roy Chowdhury | TNN Dec. 23, 2009
Shehzad Ibrahimi runs a dhaba at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He also has a PhD in Urdu from the same university. It is not quite the career he had in mind while writing his thesis on the concept of ‘hero’ in Qazi Abdur Sattar’s historical novels. But Shehzad has no regrets being the mamu of Mamu’s Dhaba. “I enjoy not having to report to anybody. Besides, I really enjoy cooking. I am doing fine,” says the 37-year-old from Bihar’s Sheikhpura district.
With lunch hour approaching, he darts about the small kitchen keeping up a lively conversation with his assistants. Shehzad honed his culinary skills at a Nalanda madrasa where he churned out dal-sabzi when the bawarchis took leave. Later, at college in Patna and in JNU, birthday parties became his responsibility as students
came to know of his skills.
Shehzad never had any particular career in mind. After completing his MPhil, he worked as news anchor with a Hyderabad-based Urdu TV channel for nearly two years, quitting when a transfer to Varanasi seemed imminent. By then, he was married with two kids. Thankfully, he had the skills and the confidence needed to run a food joint. Permitted to start a canteen at JNU’s School of Physical Sciences, he wrote his thesis alongside, submitting it the same year, 2002.
It’s not much use now (“You don’t need a PhD to chop onions”); the Urdu background manifests itself only in the flourishes in his lettering, visible as the day’s menu on the whiteboard and in the tendency to suddenly break into poetry to illustrate a point. He is writing a book — a collection of recipes. “I have all the material,” he says, which means he has tried them out on his customers and they have approved.
Now established, Shehzad can afford to be temperamental. His mood determines what is on offer. “Main jo banata hoon, dilchaspi se banata hoon. If I’m not in the mood to make biryani, you’ll not get it here,” he declares. The menu changes every day. His chicken bhujiya was a hit, but now the recipe has been archived and can’t be had at Mamu’s for love or money. His relationship with korma too blows hot and cold. The one constant is the Bihari thaali — bhaat, dal, tarkari, chokha and chutney
— for Rs 25.
A hundred people eat here every day, 180 on a good one. Shehzad promises wholesome fare. “It’s a family joint, never been any trouble here,” says Mamu, having earned the moniker when a friend’s nephew visiting JNU shouted ‘mamu-mamu’ from the audience as Shehzad sang on stage. “His classmates started calling me ‘mamu’ and then everyone,” he says. As a ‘senior’ to most of his clientele, he spices things up with easy banter, taking the liberty of yelling when they get impatient.
They also enquire after mami, Mona Gupta, on the verge of completing a thesis on Bali. Between minding the kids and research, Mona helps when she can. “Woh apne man ki rani hai, main apne man ka raja hoon,” he says. Mamu loves his dhaba but doesn’t plan to let JNU be the last stop on his road to culinary greatness. “My wish is to start a big restaurant,” he says.
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