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In 1934, brothers Lakshmi Chand Nirula and Madan Gopal Nirula opened Hotel India in Delhi’s Connaught Place with 12 rooms, a restaurant and a bar. The Nirula brothers had come to Delhi in 1928 and had tried their hands at various professions. However, they soon realised the paucity of good eating places in and around the Capital. Though completely new to the business, they launched the family-run hotel a few years down the line. In the 1940s, the brothers went on to introduce espresso coffee in the Capital, with the Indian Coffee Shop on Janpath.
It’s no surprise then, three decades later, the family also pioneered another revolution in the heart of Delhi – the fast-food revolution. In 1977, their sons, Lalit and Dipak Nirula, launched Nirula’s, putting together a menu that was never heard of in this part of the world — replete with pizzas, footlongs, ice-creams and of course, the hot chocolate fudge. In the last 50 years of its existence, the place has touched the palate, life and heart of every Delhiite.
So, on Wednesday, when news came in of Dipak Nirula’s demise at the age of 70, social media was flooded with nostalgia. Everyone spoke of the hot chocolate fudge and Lime Ice like it has been a part of their personal journey. Lloyd Mathias, Former Marketing Head, HP Asia, tweeted: |A few years before Maruti kicked off the car revolution in India in 1983, Deepak Nirula launched the iconic Nirula’s fast food chain in 1977!”
Born on April 3, 1952, in New Delhi, Nirula completed his bachelor of science in hotel management from Cornell University in 1974. He has also been listed as a noteworthy food service executive by ‘Marquis Who’s Who’.
Remembering Nirula, the brand posted a message on its official Instagram saying, “Mr Deepak Nirula, a pioneer in fast food, introduced cuisines from around the globe to India and founded the country’s oldest and first fast food brand and because of him the people explored so many ice-cream flavours. Thank you for giving us our first pizza, our first burger, our first ice-cream parlour experience, our first HCF with the motivation to be a scholar, and for making our first date so special. We’ll miss you, Mr Nirula.”
“Having been born and growing up in Delhi,” says restaurateur Zorawar Kalra, who now runs several restaurants across the country, including PaPaYa, Farzi Café, Kalra added, “I have a lot of fond memories of the place and of spending time with Mr Dipak Nirula”. He was the original inventor of an iconic food brand in India, Kalra says, adding that hot chocolate fudge remains his favourite from that time, besides their ice-creams, which he calls the richest ever ice-cream, that continues to taste the same till date.
In fact, Kalra says, when he landed back in Delhi in 2004, after completing his education in the US, he sought a mentorship meeting with Dipak Kalra, who took him for a leisurely lunch to the Connaught Place outlet, and gave him a lot of insight into the business. Kalra also recalls that despite the onslaught of international QSR (quick service restaurant) brands in the early 2000s, Nirula’s was created as a resilient brand.
“I remember McDonalds opened in Basant Lok market, right besides where Nirula’s was, but beyond the hype of the first week when McDonald’s got curious patrons, Nirula’s was able to hold steady, and continues to do so even today.”
Author Rakshanda Jalil, who has been living in Delhi since 1967, and “seen Delhi change, its eating habits change”, says, “It was literally the only fast food place in Delhi; we knew the menu by heart.” Also, she adds, “The menu was created in such a manner that it had something for everyone. You can’t go to a McDonald’s and order a dosa, but Nirula’s had a south Indian counter, even beyond its mutton chops and pizzas. And for those of us who grew up on Archie comics, we had our fill of sodas, and also afford them on our modest pocket money.”
By that time Nirula’s was already a CP landmark, a subsequent addition was the adjacent, waiter-served “Potpourri” salad bar, offering Western fast food such as burgers, pizzas, and submarines, plus an ice cream parlour offering 21 flavours. Expansion of the fast food business also continued in the next two decades, and when international QSR chains came in, Nirula’s maintained its edge through an Indianised menu and competitive pricing.
In 2006, Navis Capital Partners bought Nirula’s. The subsequent year, the original CP outlet moved to K-Block, while Potpourri also moved locations. At the same time, Nirula’s also opened India’s first ice-cream museum inside their ice-cream factory in Noida. The brand is now present in 85 locations across Delhi and NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab.
They were way ahead of the curve, says Jalil, adding, “In a world of falling standards, they managed to retain their flavours.” Only last week, she ordered a hot chocolate fudge from Nirula’s as she was craving for some “soul food”.
Even Kalra ordered from Nirula’s two months ago – their mutton sausage pizza. Even on a low-carb diet day, he says he orders it and savours the toppings. “I don’t think there’s any other place that does a mutton sausage pizza. Same goes for their home-made condiments, especially their mustard sauce,” he adds.
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