Bambalapitiya Kiri Mandale Thei Kade :

Steaming legacy of tea serving

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

Undugoda Devage Upasena is not the kind of person who would argue on his bread and butter. If he ever did, he would have been selling more than just buttered bread and tea in his teashop. He has kept things simple and his customers happy at his tea bar amidst the hustle and bustle of the Bambalapitiya town for nearly 30 years. The tea bar, Bambalapitiya Kiri Mandale Thei Kade, which is located near traffic lights junction of the town, is not just his business, it is also his legacy.

Being a teashop owner, Upasena, aged 62, is conscious of his customers’ needs for multiple flavours. So he decided to offer just one such flavour for his customers to keep his business moving. Home-made cutlets just seemed perfect. Cutlets, indeed is the pick of the basket for anyone who patronizes his place.

A plate full of big brown fish cutlets is laid out on the table on a silvery platter, side by side with buttered slices of bread, all of them wrapped in huge polythene covers for cleanliness sake. The fish cutlets are to be picked up by customers at will. They can be spicy appetizers or even a complementary snack with bread before tea.

A customer would eat at least two cutlets at his teashop before they rush for tea moved by their spiciness. Nevertheless, they seemed to enjoy the meal without complaining. They keep coming for the Kiri Mandale Thei Kade.

Familiar taste

The taste of buttered bread and cutlet at the teashop has been an unduplicated pleasure for multitudes of customers since the 70s. It has been an unchanged melody of the taste buds for at least two generations of customers.

The aluminium tea kettles at Kiri Mandale Thei Kade, too have stood the test of time. They refused to be dismissed from the stove. They have even better shine and feel than when they were first brought to the shop about 25 years ago, said Upasena’s wife Asoka Malewana as she gazed at the steaming kettles on the gas stove. “These pots have quenched the tea thirst of millions of customers in the entire run,” she said. “We repaired them whenever there was a problem, they did not have much except that we had to patch several cracks at the joints.”

I asked Upasena how they started their business. “I used to work at Kiri Mandale (Milk Board) at Narahenpita those days. The Kade was opened as a part of the Kiri Mandale outlets to serve hot milk.”

Upasena showed us a couple of large metal containers which the Milk Board had used from late 70s to supply milk to his shop. The metal containers have been there for over two decades. Upasena’s helper had placed pieces of cardboard on the top of the containers tying their ends with the handlebar to make a comfortable chair.

Early beginnings

Former Minister of Agriculture and Land, Hector Kobbekaduwa opened the shop in the mid 70s. Upasena remembered how Minister Hector Kobbekaduwa came and opened his facility. “Kobbekaduwa Mahatteya helped us start the shop and the business. The Kade was started with his approval.”

“We did not have water supply when we started the Kade. Kobbekaduwa Mahatteya resolved the matter on that very day he opened the shop by getting authorities to fix pipe-borne water supply to the shop,” he recalled.

“I sold a cup of plain tea at the price of five cents and a cup of tea with milk at ten cents at the start,” he mentioned referring to his business in the early days. “Most of my customers were those who used to go by train. They all settled in here for tea as a habit before they went to the station.”

“The business ran well with not too many shops around. We made tea of about 35 kilos of sugar. Now it has gone down to less than 10 kilos,” he pointed out. “Nevertheless, the money we make is enough for the family,” he added. It is indeed a skill to be content with what one gets. But why didn’t Upasena go up full steam to expand his business?

His facility is located inside the Kiri Mandale shop which is run by Samarasinghe. Upasena says he does not want to have any conflicts with Samarasinghe’s business. “Why create conflicts when you can do without them?” he asked.

Upasena lives with his wife and daughter. He has become a grandfather from recent times. He wakes up at 4 am everyday for he must open his teashop by 6 am. He does the day shift and takes a rest when his wife comes round about 1 pm to take over the evening shift.

It is not always easy to go about his business during noon because of the scorching hot sun. Upasena has arranged a small fan hanging from a steal rod to minimize the discomfort he and his wife had to cope with during the day. The arrangement is likely to attract one’s attention with the fan seemingly suspended in the air with apparently no support from the ground or a wall. It is an ideal set up of convenience and comfort for the cashier. It allows freedom of movement to serve tea from the counter. It saves valuable space.

Tea is served in a type of tumbler, called Ashoka Veeduru or Ashoka glasses, a variety that has been in the market for decades in Sri Lanka. One hardly gets to see them nowadays, with the advent of tea being served, with hot water in standard cups with stringed tea packets and sugar, in modern pastry shops. But what if you are not so good at tea making and concerned about its taste and quality?