A delicious dream to rebuild a bakery

Rising like a phoenix

“I was stunned when I heard of the blast. I could not believe it. Then I took my two daughters and rushed there in a car. But can you imagine the police would not let us go near the bakery? I told them I am the owner but they simply would not listen, although politicians were trickling one by one and going inside,” a devastated Kharose, the proprietor of the bakery, told Deccan Herald.

The detritus are testimony to the horror of terrorism. Although North Road, on which the bakery is located, has been reopened to traffic, four days back the stretch was the site of carnage caused by the blasts. Smita hails from Mumbai. She married Dnyaneshwar Kharose in 1989 and settled here. At that time, her husband ran a cigarette store outside Osho Commune which thrived and throbbed with activities and discourses of spiritual guru Rajneesh.

One of his disciples was a German national Klaus Woody Gutzeit, who was a frequent visitor and would always be in search of continental snacks that suited his palate. He goaded Dnyaneshwar to start a bakery and so it came into existence in April 1989.

Woody helped start a similar bakery on Goa’s Anjuna beach. Having coaxed Dnyaneshwar to turn enterprising, Woody left for the Himalayas. He returns here only occasionally.

Woody not only supported the venture, he also taught the Kharose couple to bake bread, a variety of cakes and less spicy delicacies. The bakery became an instant hit with foreigners visiting the Ashram. Customers would throng the bakery, occupying the tables drinking coffee all day long.

When Dnyaneshwar passed away in 1999, Smita (39), with two daughters and a son, was forced to take charge of the business. Without any degree or diploma in hotel or restaurant management, or without any business background, Smita plunged into the bakery business and for the past ten years has been managing it well.

While she struggled to set the business in order, another tragedy struck the family. Her only son, Aditya (11), was diagnosed with cancer. Undaunted, Smita took her son’s illness in her stride. The bakery was her only source of income and she would ensure that it remained popular. “I could visit the bakery only on Monday with the police permission. It was shocking. Was it the same place which I owned? It was beyond recognition,” Smita said.

The bakery is located opposite the Jews’ Chhabad House, and is very close to the Osho Commune, which are heavily guarded after repeated terror warnings. The bakery was the soft target. The estimated loss at the bakery could be anywhere between Rs 35 and Rs 40 lakh and the insurance company has already been notified. “I feel sorry for the loss of lives. There were so many youngsters among the dead. The bakery lost a waiter,” she said. “The government has not provided us any help. It is surprising that we have suffered the loss along with others, but we have not received any financial aid,” Smita complained.

But with or without any aid, Smita and her daughters are determined to rebuild the bakery and put in back in business. “The incident is shocking, but we are resolved to rebuild the bakery,” Smita said.