Kayani Bakery hasn't seen any drastic transformation... except more orders. | |
| Not much has changed at Pune's Kayani Bakery since its establishment in 1955. The same old glass and antique wooden counters, with long queues of people waiting for their turn to be served by the busy attendants, greet you on entering the store. |
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| Even the quality of the bakery's products is the same. And not without reason. "Since inception, we have been sourcing our raw material from the best in the business "" Khemchand Dayalji, who supply to MNCs like Hindustan Unilever," assures Pervez Kayani, son of Hormuzdir Kayani, one of the three founders of Kayani Bakery. |
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| High quality and consistent taste has been the trademark of the bakery, which has grown solely on word of mouth publicity. |
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| "We cannot afford to go wrong with our quality as we would immediately get a call from our clients and it would mean a loss of face and business," explains Kayani while thinking aloud of the embarrassment it would cause him if some of his oldest clients like the Pawar family or Thackreys complained about the quality of any of their products. |
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| The show today is being run by Pervez Kayani along with his nephew Khodayar Kayani, one of the founder's grandson, Rustom Kayani, and his son Firdous Kayani. |
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| "The other members of the family have either migrated from the country or stayed away from the family business," he says. |
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| Located on MG Road, opposite the Victory theatre, the bakery's prime location had made it famous among the cinegoers and the racing enthusiasts who visited the city over the weekends. |
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| "Till 1983 we were open on Sundays also," reminisces Kayani. They now close the bakery on Sundays due to the infiltration of the multiplex culture and other entertainment avenues. |
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| While the growing popularity of the shop has ensured that the business grows steadily, it has also meant that due to the flood of orders, customers often ask their servants to stand in queue till their orders arrive. |
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| Nevertheless, once in a while a famous celebrity still drops by, just another shine factor for the bakery. |
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| The most recent is John Abraham. Others like Dilip Kumar place a call from their residence for their order while still others like Dr Mohan Agashe "have become family friends and stop by personally", shares Kayani. |
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