Dadu’s... Timeless & Priceless

At the recently held 25th reunion of the XLRI batch of 1979, voices were heard murmuring about the changes at XL… “When we were here, the Acad block area was a huge lawn” “Everything has changed so much…” As the XLers of ’79 took a walk around the campus, nostalgic and a little overwhelmed, the one place they rushed to with a sense of relief was… Dadus. Yes, the one place that has remained unchanged… both in terms of location and the warmth it exudes.

Dadus was started in the early 70s by a man named Srikanth, who later came to be known as ‘Dadu’, in the football ground. A few years later, XL set up the building that currently houses this little tea shop. Run by Niranjan da, the son of Dadu, this ‘quaint lemonade stand’ as one XLer of the batch of 2006 called it continues to be a vital link in the social life of an XLer.

A typical day at Dadus begins at the twilight hour when, after a hard night’s ‘work’ (read movies on LAN, graxing, wetnights, AoE, NFS…), an XLer knocks on the wooden window shutter to grab a cup of chai and sutta before crawling into bed. Boni money is kept handy in the form of small change, and the log lying outside is the perfect place to sit down, sip one’s tea and watch a new day dawn. Till a few years back, says Niranjan da, he used to be woken up as early at 4.30-5… in the winter months, though, it is only a brave few who venture out before 6.30-7.

When asked about the changes he has seen at XLRI, Niranjan da says that his whole life has been lived out at XL—to recount the changes would be akin to narrating his life story. Niranjan da and his brother Chittaranjan (or Chitto) live near Sonari in a joint family. Their father passed away a few years back, and their mother lives with them. Niranjan da is happily married with three children. To Niranjan da, Dadus isn’t just a teashop or a means to earn his living—it is his father’s heritage, and he intends to continue running it the way it has been run all these years.

Asked if he particularly remembers any batch, he says that to him, life has taken on a cycle of continuity where every year he sees a host of new faces that somehow all converge to form a composite called the XLer. Many come back years after passing out, and drop in to say hello. They leave their corporate image at the gates of XL and when at Dadus they are, once again, just XLers sipping their nimbu pani and graxing.

Dadus is witness to the host of celebrations and events that go on at XL throughout the year… the placement processes, MAXI fair, XL-IIMC and various festivals. Dadus is especially decked up during Durga puja, when the walls are newly painted and the entrance decorated with a string of colored lights.

Xlers don’t just drop in at Dadus for a bite to eat or a sutta—they also drop in just to step away from life for a little bit, take a break and savor a few moments of peace. Life’s simple pleasures can be observed in the way Buddhu and Mangal, the two boys working at Dadus, interact with the students. To Niranjan da, they are a part of his family and so are the students and faculty who frequent his shop. Service is homely and given with a generous dose of laughter and chitchat. Asked whathe does in the summer months when the students are away, Niranjan
da replies with a smile “Karne ko kya hai? Hum June ka wait karte hain jab sab waapas aa jayange aur phir campus mein jaan aa jayegi”.

Niranjan da says that his life is full and content, and he has no ambitions of expanding business. XLRI has been a part of his life for far too long now, and it makes him happy to be doing what he is doing. When approached for this article, he promptly took out yearbooks from way back and photographs over the decades, each snippet telling its own story and forming a mosaic of life at XL viewed from his eyes. Speaking of the current batch, he says “CRP is baar bhi achha ho jaye, sabko apne pasand ki naukri mil jaye… hamari taraf se All the Best”.

His affection for XL is apparent in his New Year message to all XLers “Naye Saal ki shubh kaamnayen, and hamein aur XL ko zaroor yaar kariyega… aap jab bhi lautenge, hum yahin honge.

On that note, XLers, here’s wishing everyone a happy 2005… and remember, whenever you come back, XL will still be here.

Author: Abhilasha Krishnan IR 2006