The City of Joy is a proud city, and prides itself on several things. Presently (and for a while), three of the biggest are Kolkata Knight Riders, biryani and doodh cha. Now, two of these have miraculously met at Kolkata’s famous Balwant Singh Dhaba in Bhowanipore. The popular dhaba in the heart of Kolkata has been around for over 100 years and prides itself on its chai and doodh cola.
To celebrate KKR’s third IPL title, Balwant Singh Dhaba announced their joy on Instagram by offering free chai to all KKR players till the start of next season’s IPL. Why this offer? Well, Balwant Singh has made a special friendship with a very special Knight — the man who scored back-to-back half centuries en route to the trophy — Venkatesh Iyer.
Last night, the popular eatery posted on Instagram, inviting Venky Iyer to return for a celebratory chai, this time maybe with King Khan in tow. Ahead of KKR’s last home game against Mumbai Indians on May 11, the lanky all-rounder dropped by for a cup of tea and doodh cola at the famous dhaba and enjoyed his time there.
Sharing a reel on their Instagram, Balwant Singh Dhaba captioned it: “Celebrating our regular guest Venkatesh Iyer from Kolkata Knight Riders, who dropped by for some chai and doodh cola”
Revelling in the excitement of having a Knight at one of the city’s favourite hangout spots, the iconic dhaba took it one step further, sharing a picture of Venky and KKR team owner Shah Rukh Khan, asking Venky to drop by the dhaba once more, this time to celebrate the victory with King Khan and a cup of tea.
The tea would be free of course, because the offer stands for all the Knights who played out their heart and soul. KKR delivered the trophy back to the city after 10 years, and Balwant Singh is more than happy to keep dishing out cups of their famous chai to every single Knight who was a part of the journey. The offer stands till the next season begins, as the mega auction is up next and that means a new set of Knights.
Venkatesh Iyer left a little note in the visitor book at the eatery Debrup Chaudhuri
My Kolkata headed over to the dhaba and found out that Sunil Narine and Rinku Singh are some of the current Knights who have visited the city’s famous chai-and-adda spot, while former Knight and Indian player Kuldeep Yadav has a favourite at Balwant Singh. According to Manish Singh, the managing director of Balwant Singh Eating House, “Kuldeep loved our Alu Parathas and Amritsari Kulcha.”
It was Manish’s idea to celebrate the KKR victory with free chai. “At Balwant Singh, we love the Knight Riders and always support them. A free cup of chai is our small token of appreciation towards them. We are very proud to have hosted several players, the most recent being Venkatesh Iyer, and we look forward to hosting many more Knights in the future.” While the Knights have access to free chai, fans too need to celebrate the victory, so head over to Harish Mukherjee Road and get your own cup of their signature chai and Punjabi food.
