Mumbai: ‘Will never vacate Mani’s. It’s my dad’s blood & sweat’

I will never vacate this place It is the sweat and hard work of my late father V S Mani Iyer who started this establishment in Matunga in 1937 when he was just 21years old The hotel is close to our heart We have done no wrong so why are we being harassedrdquo asked Rajamani Iyer of Manirsquos Lunch Home Matunga midday on January 4 reported that the landlord has asked the management of this iconic eatery to vacate the premises Iyer however is firm that they do not want to leave the property which they took on pagdi rent systemIyer said the landlord has been sending eviction notices since the past few months ldquoThis is a pagdi property and my father would pay a very nominal pagdi rent to the landlords who reside in the same groundplusone storey building Similar eviction letters have been sent to the other shop occupants in the buildingrdquo he saidWhen asked to elaborate he said ldquoHe landlord never sent such an eviction letter when my elder brother Narayanswamy was alive It is nothing but harassment and a way to create pressure on the tenants so that they vacate the premisesrdquoThe Manirsquos Lunch Home at Matunga was the first one set by up V S Mani Iyer inset in 1937ldquoThe landlord had approached us almost a year ago with a proposal to convert the existing pagdi system to a leave and licence agreement for a period of three years I expressed our disinterest to change the mode Instead our advocate stated that we were willing to increase the pagdi rent but the other side was not willing to budgerdquo Iyer addedAlso Read Mumbai Now the other Manirsquos Lunch Home in Matunga is also under threatLawyer calls notice frivolousAdvocate Subhash Ghatge who represents Manirsquos Lunch Home said ldquoThe landlord is trying to unnecessarily harass my client by sending frivolous letters for eviction since the past few monthsrdquoldquoMy clients have been running the hotel lawfully and with various valid licences from the civic corporation The landlord had without any authority demanded copies of the licences My clients acknowledged the request and furnished copies but the landlord for reasons best known to him is continuing to harass themrdquo he addedManirsquos HistoryIyer told midday ldquoMy late father hailed from Palghat Kerala He used to accompany a wellknown cook and learnt the art of cooking It was during the outbreak of smallpox in Kerala that my late parents V S Mani Iyer and Anandha came to Mumbai to make a living and started this eateryrdquoldquoMy father introduced authentic idli and dosa to Mumbai He would carry the South Indian breakfast on his bicycle to places like Five Gardens and Dadar Parsi colony to promote his outlet near Ruia college in Matunga Eastrdquo he said adding ldquoThe income from this hotel was used by my parents to educate their five childrenmdashNarayanswamy Raghu Krishna Raman and me and the next generation familiesrdquoHe added ldquoUnfortunately after the demise of our father it was Narayanswamy the eldest of the five siblings who took charge of the hotel He gradually set up an additional hotel in Matunga which was later shifted to Chembur After his death all the remaining brothers and their children have now come together to run our ageold traditional hotel which is also the source of our livelihoodrdquoLongtime patronrsquos viewK A Vishwanathan a Matunga resident and family friend of the Iyers said ldquoThe Matunga Manirsquos was the first of the three hotels started by V S Mani Iyer in 1937 At that time pagdi system prevailed in Mumbai and the hotel premises were taken on lease in the same systemrdquoldquoPagdi is a traditional tenancy rental model where the renter is also part owner of the house The rent was also very meagre since most of the buildings were constructed before independence In our building the tenants had to pay the pagdi rent for 100 months to become the owner of the house after the redevelopment of the buildingrdquo he explainedSpeaking of his own familyrsquos past he said ldquoMy father late K S Anantharaman Iyer came to Mumbai from Palakkad in Kerala in 1925 and found a place to stay in Matunga which was considered a South Indiandominated area At that time he would pay Rs 2 per month for a one room and kitchen flat which was taken on pagdi system By 2000 when the building was redeveloped the rent had increased to Rs 60 As per rules of the pagdi system the landlord has to give tenants flats in the redeveloped buildingsrdquo1937Year when Manirsquos Lunch Home was started21Age in years of V S Mani Iyer when he set up Manirsquos