A transformed eatery – the Aurelec cafeteria

A year or two after completing the first proper building at the southern end of today’s complex, a small ‘kitchen’ was set up in the room now occupied by Mira Computers’ CEO, and meals were served under a shady neem tree at the back. It was all very relaxed and idyllic, but as computer sales took off and more staff were employed, there came an inevitable expansion, requiring more buildings and more sophisticated facilities. The Dining Hall was an early priority. 

Aurelec’s Dining Hall, alias Cafeteria, which has remained essentially unchanged structurally and functionally since its original inception in 1983, at its peak was catering to the needs of around 125 people a day (nearly 40,000 meals plus 80,000 tea-coffee-lemon juice servings a year). Staff had to eat in staggered sittings, with the R&D boffins opting to eat last, probably because of reluctance to tear themselves away from their beloved computer screens.

I say 125 people, but that didn’t quite cover the total number of food consumers, because for a while there was also a mouse living in the kitchen. It would emerge sometimes in broad daylight, with everyone working around it, to snatch up items of fallen food and carry them back to its ‘home’ under the worktop cupboards. I can remember the first time I saw it, as it sallied forth, and exclaiming in shocked tones to the then cook, “Murthy, did you see THAT?”, and getting the calm reply, “It’s OK Tim, don’t worry. Not a rat, just a mouse.”

Birds also used to fly in to take a snack, until we screened off the windows. Then there were the geckos, flies and other creatures, plus the squirrels regularly nesting in the roof beams. At one point it was suggested the whole place be re-designated a wildlife park, but – like everywhere else in Auroville – Aurelec has become much more hygiene conscious since then, and it is no longer possible to spot the former range of unwanted life-forms; just the occasional fly.

Previously, the flies used to come inside in large numbers, bringing with them the risk of various diseases, simply because people failed to close the doors. To counter them an electric ‘Pest-O-Flash’ fly zapper was purchased, with a bluish-green light that supposedly lured them into a high voltage discharge space, where with an ominous crackling sound they could be shot down in mid air. It had a tray at the bottom to hold the fallen corpses. However, it never proved very effective. The flies just loved it, flying in and out in a game somewhat like ‘Russian roulette’. We still have the unit, or rather its successor, but it seems to be more for psychological reassurance of staff and guests than catching flies. 

Today none of those old hygiene problems remain, having been long ago dealt with, and the Cafeteria meets all the criteria of Auroville’s Health Services. 

Talking of electrical equipment, some of the old-timers still recall the day they heard a piercing scream coming from the premises, and rushed over to find one of the kitchen ladies lying unconscious on the floor, having apparently electrocuted herself on a defective lead to the water cooler. “Is she dead?” was the tense enquiry. No-one seemed to know, so it was decided to take her to the Health Centre. At which point the corpse stirred slightly, and hope returned. The in-house journal’s gentle-giant co-editor then strode forward and – unaided – lifted her off the floor and deposited her in the company Jeep. An hour later she was back, looking a bit groggy. Someone then jokingly suggested that the experience of being carried in a pair of 17-inch-bicep arms had probably done more to revitalise her than any doctor could have done. Maybe; but she wasn’t seen near the water cooler for quite some time.

The staff in those days had to put up with an extraordinary variety of requests – plus occasional complaints – from all directions. Some people wanted tea at their workplace, some coffee, some lemon juice, some other beverages, and each of those variations came in two forms – with or without sugar. The serving staff were somehow expected to know the preference of each individual member of staff working in the compound. Put a cup of sweetened tea down in front of an ‘unsweetened’ addict, and all hell could break loose. Then to go with their drink some preferred a certain type of biscuit, some wanted savoury items or peanuts, and some clamoured for the occasional slice of cake. On top of this, people regularly failed to inform the kitchen that they would not be there at tea time, so the serving person was left confused as to whether to leave something or not. 

In the Dining Hall it was much the same. You had the asbestos-stomached chili addicts and the ulcer-fearing ‘unspiced’ brigade; the warm water drinkers and the semi-iced quaffers; the north Indian enthusiasts and the south Indians; the animal protein aficionados and the vegetarians; the onion lovers and the onion haters; etc. You could never please them all, which is why a good caterer has always had to be rather like a yogi, full of equanimity, calm, flexible and patient. 

Now Aurelec as a separate computer manufacturing unit, operating independent of Auroville, is no more, and the “Kitchen/Dining Hall” of those days has become known as the “Cafeteria” under the management of Franz. Over the years he has overseen a considerable number of modifications and improvements to its operation, transforming it into a public eating place-cum-restaurant facility with both breakfast and lunch available every day, including Sundays, and has expanded the seating capacity to enable people to sit outside under a shady jackfruit tree, where they can admire an artistic ceramic tile mural featuring birds and jackfruits done specially by Ange for the Cafeteria, or sculptures by Henk, while at the same time enjoying a view of the gardens. He has also introduced art to the Cafeteria’s interior, by transforming its walls into display spaces for paintings, drawings, posters, fabrics, etc., making it a gallery as well as an eatery, and has introduced Wi-Fi for anyone wanting to quietly work there on their computers. 

While today’s kitchen/Dining Hall operation seems like a shadow of what it was back in the 1980s, the logistics are still quite impressive. In a typical year the 8 kitchen staff (5 men and 3 women) still have to prepare, cook and serve up over 2½ tons of rice, ¾ ton of onions, 1½ tons of tomatoes, 5 tons of other vegetables, and 60,000 papadums, all cooked with around 1,000 litres of oil. That’s a total of over 23,000 meals. Then there is the tea-coffee-lemon juice requirement, involving nearly 5,000 litres of milk, a ton of sugar, 5,000 lemons, and the actual tea and coffee that makes up the 60,000+ annual servings.

Where does it all go? Well, forgetting the left-overs, let us just say that we don’t notice anyone getting slimmer once they start eating there.

The Cafeteria also offers a full catering service beyond its walls, providing and serving specially ordered and cooked meals outside the premises, sometimes including non-vegetarian dishes. The staff also cater for special events in Auroville. As one of Auroville’s lesser known eateries, if you are in the area I would say it is well worth a visit.