Dispatches from real India (Part 1) - The 85 year old Rajan Kaapi (dried ginger coffee) shop

We arrived in India two weeks ago to attend two big family weddings. My initial plan was to take a break from writing in that time. As much as I enjoy writing about stuff, taking a break helps clean the pipeline and gives me fresh ideas to work on. But India being India is indefatigable. It offers myriad experiences and a diverse array of characters that refuse to be ignored or forgotten. So, here I am succumbing to the lure and writing a series of articles on some interesting characters I have met over the past two weeks.[gallery ids="1180,1181,1182,1183,1184,1185,1186,1187,1188,1189"]The first person I would like to write about is Mr.Rajan, proprietor of the Rajan Sukku Kaapi shp. The shop is located next to the Anaikatti checkpost on Thadagam Road outside Coimbatore. It stands right at the intersection of the road to Anaikatti and the one to Mangarai and Ayurveda college. This place is a favorite haunt of mine everytime I come home. This time was no different. During my last trip, due to unforseen circumstances, I had to skip my trip to Anaikatti. Not this time. We finished our meeting with Swami Dayananda Saraswathi at the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam and on our way back, sukku kaapi beckoned.For the uninitiated, sukku kaapi (dried ginger coffee) has no coffee. It looks like coffee and is a warm beverage. It is sometimes referred to as sukku tea also. And yes, there is no real tea in it. The preparation is quite simple if you have the right ingredients. The two key components are dried ginger extract with some local spices which is available as a powder and to sweeten things up, palm jaggery. Local sukku kaapi shops tend to make their own dried ginger powder with secret spice ingredients. The two components are brought to a boil and then served hot. The suggested accompaniment to the sukku kaapi is sundal (garbanzo beans boiled with spices). The combination is spectacular on a nice evening as the Sun is going down.Rajan Sukku Kaapi shop is a local fixture. One that has lasted for 85 years. It was originally started by the senior Rajan who passed away a few years ago. His son, the current owner made his chops helping his dad from an early age. Whenever the shop is not serving kaapi, you can find Rajan catching up with old M.G.Ramachandran (MGR) movies. To call him an MGR buff would be a huge understatement. Every inch of the shop is filled with posters of MGR. Rajan himself proudly bears a MGR lapel pin. He can talk for hours about the original superstar as he will about the intricacies of the ginger he uses for his sukku kaapi. The shop itself is small and filled with baubles and trinkets in addition to local candy, chips, sundal and sukku kaapi making apparatus. Rajan's house is right behind the shop which allows him a lot of flexibility in running the store.For the travel weary, the shop offers a mental and physical respite. At a time when India is changing rapidly in so many ways, shops like these are true establishments of the old guard. It has withstood over 8 decades of change and growth which includes India getting its independence from the British. In all these years, the passion for concocting a heady brew of ginger and jaggery and the love for a long dead superstar continues to define Rajan Sukku kaapi shop. When you are in the neighborhood the next time, do stop by for a sip. Dont miss the sundal that goes with it. You will definitely thank me later.