DEN Talks is a series on conversations with a new breed of Darjeelingeys who are bringing about a positive change in Darjeeling through their journeys on entrepreneurship. This first episode is with Mihir Punj Rai, the founder of Machhan Teabar and Cafe. Machhan has managed to draw in a huge number of young crowd and written a new chapter in the still developing cafe culture of Darjeeling. Our founder Prashansa Gurung caught up with him for a short guff last december. What follows is a heart to heart with a young and dynamic guy who has successfully built more than just a cafe.
PRASHANSA GURUNG: Namastay Mihir!
MIHIR PUNJ RAI: Namastay Namastay!
PG: Good Evening!
MPR: Good Evening!
PG: Good Evening?
MPR: Yea, kind of…alikati hectic wala evening hai.
PG: So just another day in the life of an entrepreneur then, hai?
MPR: Yes!
PG: So, do you consider yourself an entrepreneur? Is the word entrepreneur correct for you?
MPR: I think so, kina bhaney, It's just the beginning of my journey hai; it's just been around two-two and a half years that I've been grinding hai yo field ma. So it kind of sounds okay, aile bhannu ko lagi, to be an entrepreneur.
PG: Okay, so entrepreneur word lai pani ajhai dissect garum hai…so what you’d be called is a ‘serial restauranter’ or ‘cafe owner’...k bhanda thik hola? If you had to use words to describe yourself.
MPR: So in terms of word hai, I don't think esto kyei word hola j le chai mo abo aafule aafulai signify garnu sakchu, ya ta bhannu sakchu ki, ya this is me bhanera hai. Right now it's just a searching point for me pani hai, wherein Im trying different businesses hai. Aile abo people know me through Machhan hai, but for this, Machhan ko junchai mother company thyo - its called Cup-o-cha - which is a tea brand. So it's similar. When you start something, you find different paths towards your goals. That journey thing hunchanta hai, ani yo journey lai nai follow garda gardai jaandaichu hai aile samma ta. I don't know if I’d possibly consider myself as a ‘restauranter’ or a ‘cafe owner’ bhanera…in the future…this is a part of the journey and business. Later on there might be some other word which would perfectly describe me. It's a matter of time bhanum na.
PG: Yes! That's the way to go. Abo Machhan ko kura aai halyo. Imagine koi Darjeeling visit gardai chha harey, what would you tell them? Why should they visit Machhan?
MPR:
So when it comes to Machhan, it's a Nepali term. Machhan bhaneko chai k ho bhanda, unai pani, chahey sabji launu hos, ya ta ghar banaunuhos, tyeslai support chahincha euta - that support is called ‘machhan’. So in that sense, Machhan has been a support for my tea business.
Prior to Machhan, I used to run a tea business. And well wishers started to advise that a physical store is important. So I understood the importance of a physical store. When it came to the execution part, I didn't really want to just open a shop and package tea in tea bags. And since I was employed in another sector prior to this, sochdai jaada, ideate gardai jaada, tea business lai support garnu came Machhan. Machan is a tea bar more than a cafe. It's a blend of teabar, cafe, restaurant.
PG: Okay, so Machhan ko USP timile explain garnu paryo bhaney k bhanchau?
MPR: Machhan, though it's a teabar and cafe, and places that adhere to these words do exist in other parts of world as well, but what bifurcates Machhan is…first of all, the ambience out here - since its an open rooftop place, you can see Kanchenjunga from here. And in terms of food, jasari haamro Nepali culture baachiraako chha ni, though we wear western clothes, our traditional dresses also still exist. Tyesari nai food ko chai kina update bhayena bhanney kura aucha. So the thought was that our food can be updated too. You will see, though we sell burgers, sandwiches - what makes our burgers and sandwiches different is the spices we add. We use local spices - so it's a modern blend of Nepali spices with ‘modern’ foods. That's the USP of Machhan. Right now, we are also trying to provide coffee which is grown and roasted locally in Darjeeling. Tea brand is already there. Darjeeling is famous for teas already, and we already have a tea brand - so all the teas we serve here are from Cup-o-cha.
PG: That is so good to hear! So Machhan is growing quite rapidly - you’ve also taken up the floor below - it's a proud moment for everyone to see our people growing in front of our eyes. How do you describe this ‘new’ Machhan? Machhan 2.0? How is it different from the existing Machhan?
MPR: So Machhan as it exists right now, as a venture, is mostly targeted to the youths, because they are already used to the cafe culture, because they are already exposed to this, some of them having lived in metro cities. But this kind of culture is still in its initial growing phase in Darjeeling. So the vibe of this place isn't exactly catering to someone who is older. The new Machhan is geared more towards casual dining. It's a different journey. While we have already experimented with creating a fusion of Nepali spices with western foods, the thought behind this new venture is more towards providing an authentic Nepali cuisine culture. And though there are other places that serve Nepali food, they are more of Thakali cuisine which is from Nepal.We want to present food which is authentic Darjeeling food, while also focusing on the ambiance - gundri ochhyaera - that is the kind of casual dining experience that we want our customers to have.
PG: Official opening chai kaile ho?
MPR: Lets see, yo covid situation le nai dictate garcha tyo chai.
PG: Speaking of Covid, how did it affect your business? And how did you deal with it?
MPR: As far as covid lockdown is concerned, I’d say there has been both positive and negative impact. Negative because we couldn't fully open our space, but at the same time, it also gave us an opportunity to experiment and update our menu, and overall how we could improve our business and service. Another huge impact was delivery service; it played a vital part. People wanted to have ‘baira ko khana’ (food from restaurants), especially Machaan ko Wings, dalle wings khanu pura ichha garthyo, and that's why we could experiment in that space too. So it was both negative and positive despite the drop in business. It provided exposure to a new way of doing business.
PG: Definitely, covid gave us all the time to take a step back and rethink our priorities. Moving on, you have been rapidly opening new ‘restaurants’, for the lack of a better word. The way I see it, you are one of those few people in darjeeling who is not content with just opening one shop and sitting back, rather you are also trying to foster an entire culture of cafes. Speak about the process of developing this culture.
MPR: So right now, haamilai Darjeeling mai basda chai tyetti tha hundaina - k ho k haina - ek prakar ko limitation huncha. But when you see places outside of Darjeeling, just Siliguri jharda pani, we will see a kind of identity crisis. So the larger vision was to show people that there are multiple ways of doing things - to kind of combat that identity crisis and uplift people - euta haamro aafnoi restaurant chain pani ta hunu sakcha bhanney soch thyo; that a restaurant which started in Darjeeling, with its base in Darjeeling, can also be opened in other places. That's the larger goal we are constantly working towards. Sure, we’re at a small scale now, and the growth is slow, but we’re still going at it - whether that's by centralizing our kitchens or experimenting with our foods. Euta pakka khalke, yo chai Darjeeling ko taste hai bhanney hisaab le banayera chai, tyeslai nai why not take it even to other countries as a branch bhanney ni.
I don't see why it isn't possible for a restaurant with its main base in Darjeeling to also operate in places like Delhi, Bangalore etc.
PG: You have our best wishes for this endeavor. In the upcoming years, when we visit these places, even Siliguri, we hope to see Machhan thrive in these places as well. These are future plans, but let's rewind a little and talk about your personal journey. While we have touched upon how Cup-o-cha and Machhan came about, what prompted you to work on these ventures? For example, why did you decide to not continue working outside of Darjeeling? Why did you come back to Darjeeling to start your ventures?
MPR: So before I got this space for Machhan, I was in Mizoram for a business deal. I wanted to open an outlet for our tea brand. At that time, I started to get calls about this space. I hadn't seen this space but I agreed to it nonetheless, and even made the pre-payment - jagaa pani na heri. Malai tyesto garnu kina aat aayo bhanda chai, when I was in Darjeeling and working, the max cafes I used to visit were Nerdvana and Himalayan Java. I used to sit there and work and I started to notice there was something missing - the kind of culture of sitting in cafes and working, which I was exposed to while living in Bangalore was missing here. In Bangalore I used to see other people also working, or just generally talking about work or discussing new ideas. Yaa chai tyo culture thiyena. Abo arule pani sochtyo hola, k saaro bhaikar, laptop kholera kaam gareyko bhanera…it got me thinking how if this work culture exists outside of Darjeeling, its bound to come here sooner or later, that people would be needing this kind of space. On on a whim, I took this space and later when I came to check the place out - it was an open terrace - there was nothing. Initially I put up tables with red umbrellas and started it. Then monsoon came about, and I also learnt about what people needed while I was at it.
Very few people, before this, would have considered a place like this to be a viable option, considering one has to climb so many flights of stairs just to get here. Maathi na Maathi, chalcha ki chaldaina bhanney kura hunthyo. But I guess this made people realize ki okay rooftop pani chalda raicha bhanney. Right now I can see a lot of rooftop cafes coming up. And that's good too. Because if there is no competition, we will stagnate too. It's only when you see others doing it that it motivates you. And I guess this is how the people and culture of any place grows.
PG: Definitely! Two things that struck out to me - ek ta ho tyo aat hunu parcha mancheko ma kunai pani business ya venture start garnu agadi hai - tyo aat hunu parcha bhanney kura raamro lagyo malai hai. And second chai, the capability to think preemptively entrepreneur bhaye pachi chai, which is why you are where you are. So tell me about timro journey ma what were the kind of issues you faced specifically because you are based out of Darjeeling, and how you tackled them; and secondly, what is the kind of advice you would give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps or just generally is starting with something on their own?
MPR: Okay, I will break this down a bit hai. First of all ta capital base - abo haami as a middle class family - tyesto dar lagdo capital base pani hundaina wherein we can lu dangai invest huge sums of money. So it was a slow process. So tyesto hunda chai what is of utmost importance is to apply whatever one has learnt, whether that be working outside or whatever you have studied. To apply this experience and knowledge practically in the execution of your idea is very important. This process is not as straightforward as solving a math problem. One learns as one executes. Abo paila raato chata raamroi kaam gardai thyo, tya dekhi paani parnu thalyo, jas le garda business ghatyo…so tyesto situation face gardai gaye pachi, practically k solutions chahincha, tyesko bareyma sochera tyeslai implement gardai gayo. Capital lai pani yesari nai bistari bistari badaudai gayo.
Anta arko chai, most importantly, euta backing huncha nee…jasto
I am an MBA graduate and I also studied Physics Honours…so my family, when they saw me making sandwiches in the kitchen, after all this education, lets just say, they weren’t exactly pleased. So ghar bata pura suthyo huncha nee…ammama aetro padera chai, sandwich banaunu ko lagi padeko, bhaneyra sunny parthyo.
So you need to have that…abo mind chai ekdum strong rakhnu parcha ki yo gardai chu, tara pani ek na ek din ta aesko result pauchu ni ta sochera agadi badnu parcha. So I carried on no matter what my aama-bau said. I guess that is where will power is important - that no matter arule j bhaney pani mo garchu bhanney thought needs to be there ek dum. Aruko bhanai ma chai na chalney hai…ae aelle ta aesto sano kaam gardai raicha bhaney pani, sticking to what you're doing. Abo aile bhanda ta i am the owner of tea brand bhanchu tara end ma ta chya nai ta baechi raako chhu, but just in a more knowledgeable way, networking garera. Thulo thulo businesses le pani ta tyei gari raako chha haina. Even if you speak about Pepsi, soda pani nai ta bechi rako chha haina. It's not a big deal. Just that they are doing it at a large scale in large factories, their demand is more…it's more to do with marketing and that they have a strong capital base. Abo tyo pachi hamro pani audai jaalaa ni ta haina. Sure it's risky, paisa jancha - seven figure paisa ta thulo honta hamro lagi ta - tara yo risk chai hamile linu saknu parcha. You need to build a strong will power and do what you are doing consistently. So ya,
it boils down to personal will power.
PG: Hajur ek dum thik bhannu bha - building a strong will power is very important and that is what separates the pioneer personality types from others. An interesting thing you spoke about touched upon what I think is dignity of labour. The consensus, especially in our society, is that a person who is ‘highly educated’ should not be doing anything that is perceived as ‘less’. The reality is that this is your own cafe, and I personally have seen you even mopping the floor! So that sentiment of any kind of work being a ‘low profile’ job is so wrong no…
MPR: Yes, all work is important. Like for example other people who work in Machhan, I don't call them staff. We are a team - they are all team members. Bholi ko din ma unaharu chhaina bhaney mo pani chhuina. So teamwork is really important bhanera unaharulai pani mo bhanchu. Abo this is not a corporate place hai jaa chai hierarchy chha where i'm like mo chai timaharuko boss ho, mero kaam chai yo ho, timro kaam chai tyo bhanney kura chai chhaina. Bholi ko din ma, if I do something wrong, malai pani bhana, where I can correct myself. If you do something wrong, we will figure it out together and correct it together. Aru restaurants ma waiters huncha, whereas in Machhan, anyone who serves is a customer representative. So yes, dignity of labour is definitely there.
Manchelai serve garnu bhaney ko nai sab bhanda thulo bhagya ko kura honta. Tyo pani Darjeeling mai. So aesko lagi chai, manchelai service garnu naramro na mannu, khusi hunu, that you're able to serve someone bhanera.
PG: It's very inspiring to hear about the culture of Machhan that you have built. Besides the aat and will power ko kura, anything else you want to add to say to aspiring entrepreneurs?
MPR: I’d say risk it. Consistently work gara. Jyada bhanda jyada k huncha, business fail huncha? Dui teen barsa jancha? But in the end you will have gathered experience and no one can take that away from you. In this day and age, experience matters even more than education. I remember sitting for an interview in a big company in bangalore. And though I had the educational qualification, the job was finally given to a person who didn't have an MBA but had been working in the field for many years. The first question companies ask in interviews is about experience. Abo tyo manche ko ma five years ko sales experience thyo. Mero ma degree bhaye pani malai baechnu ta autheyna tyeti bela because I was fresher out of college.
PG: That's a very eye opening anecdote. In fact, I was about to ask you that next - is education in any field that important to run any business?
MPR: Education is important to some extent, yes, but I wouldn't say that it's the most important or the only important thing. It's not everything. Abo sharpest mind hola, education hola, tara agi bhaney jasto, tyo will power nai chhaina bhaney, jasari bha pani garchui garchu bhanney thought chhaina bhaney, you can't succeed. Because you can always get people, you can always build a team to do some things you may not be fully knowledgeable about. People can help you in different departments, but at the end it is your idea they are working on.
So I’d say education is important to some extent but it's not everything.
PG: Rightly put! To conclude this very invigorating conversation Mihir, let's hear your thoughts on DEN or Darjinc Entrepreneurs’ Node, that you are a paying member of.
MPR: When it comes to DEN, I had previously heard of it and I had checked their online profile, then finally one day Prashansa Di and I met, where she explained the thought behind the initiative, why it's important for us to band together. Tyeti bela chai k bujhey bhanda that there are alot of us working individually in businesses that have a physical presence, but something online, to bring everyone in the market together, something that represents Darjeeling as a market on an online platform is important for our place bhanera.
At that point in time, I had been running two businesses and I had worked with various online platforms and services, that too at very high rates. And when I got to know that a local person is working towards this end, that too at a very reasonable rate, I thought that it would be good to collaborate at a brand level. That's why I decided to take the paid membership. Haamro ta local market ho ni ta hai, where we aren't exactly relying on tourists. We cater more to locals right, so it was a good fit for us - that there is a local platform to provide exposure to local businesses. Tyesto khalke local platform niskinda chai, hamilai pani jhan euta supporting hand huncha bhaney kura ni.
PG: Would you encourage any other entrepreneur to join DEN? Why should any other Darjeeling based entrepreneur join DEN?
MPR: Yup! Definitely they should. Kina bhaney Darjeeling bhaneko, it's a small community, compared to other big cities. Anta aesto community ma chai, entrepreneurship can be tiring. You won't be working 9 to 5. Sometimes you need to work 24 hours also. Sometimes you can take out time and chill, yes, but when it comes to the grinding hours, eklai gari basda ta, aafulai hattu lagcha. Tyetti bela chai, if there is something like a community, a kind of base, where you realize, ae okay, mo eklai chai chhuina raichu yo journey ma…they may be in a different field, different journeys huncha sabai ko tara, aeso baat marda, we can share our wins and losses with each other. There is a common point of communication. We can support each other. Abo jastai hunu sakcha, kasailai, aafno product showcase garnu lai space chai raako huncha, haamilai naya product chai raako huncha…abo aafule banaunu bhanda ta, R&D garnu ta k k garnu ta time lagi halacha. Tara unaharuko ma ready chha bhaney ta haamile pani ta linu sakcha ni ta. So that network should be there, and until and unless tyo build up hundaina, it's really tough, sabai janako lagi nai. Ani tyo community chai grow hunu parcha. So in that sense, DEN is the perfect platform to do that.
PG: How can we improve DEN?
MPR: We need more face to face interactive sessions. While I know other members as part of the community and few others personally, I feel at least one event where we all get to meet with each other will be fruitful. We will be able to know how we can help each other more clearly.
PG: Yes, definitely! We will plan something in the near future keeping in mind the Covid restrictions. Lastly, thank you for taking out time from your busy schedule to talk with us, for giving your invaluable feedback and suggestions. I like to believe that you and I have shared a very helpful dynamic with each other. I personally have learnt a lot from you and you also inspire me a lot. Wishing you luck for all your future endeavors. In the end, would you like to add anything at all, anything I may have missed out on asking, any closing statements…?
MPR: Thank you to you too hai. I’ll just say there's a lot to be done and we should all work towards it together. Like how you were talking about ‘Downtown Darjeeling’…
in the future let Darjeeling be not just a consumer hub but also a production hub. Lets not rely on the government to find solutions for us. Let's work together ourselves also to bring about development.
The growing cafe culture is just a small aspect of the scope of development that can be worked on. Aru manche haru daraucha hola when cafes open but i feel it's a good sign because it means that our overall economy is also developing because of this. Industry ko hisaab le heryo bhaney ta we must have tapped only about twenty percent of the full potential. Remaining eighty percent ta ajahi build garnu sakchum. I'm not talking about Machhan as an individual business but the cafe industry as a whole. Tyo market lai haami sabaile tap garnu sakyo bhaney, it's the economy of Darjeeling which will develop. Tyo bhayo bhaney, employment will go up, government jobs matrai heri basnu parena. We can make better salaries for our own people even in the private sector. Corporate model nai follow garnu parcha bhanney necessary chhaina, but lets foster a more equitable model where everyone's contribution is valued. As a culture only.
There's no internship culture here. Abo maile koi internship ma rakhnu chayo bhaney pani, achi aesto kaam gardina bhanney huncha. But I guess internships garnu thalyo bhaney chai, people will get to know the real facts of life hai.