Seva Cafe

To give, in humility

SMITA JAIN

The Hindu, October 8th 2006

Seva Café in Ahmedabad is a restaurant built around an ethical, not commercial, framework.

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The economic model is radically different from capitalist notions that power most modern-day interactions.

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NO ORDINARY EATERY: The Seva Cafe.

AN interesting experiment in the art of giving has begun in Ahmedabad in the form of a restaurant called "Seva Café". Located on the fashionable C.G. Road — literally in the "heart" of the city — the café is not your ordinary eatery. You are welcome to dine, converse and enjoy the ambience, yet are required to pay only what you wish for the meal. The restaurant is run mostly by volunteers, and there are no prices for any of the food items. Only one expectation exists of the server and the served: that acts of kindness and love be perpetuated.

The "pay it forward" economic model of Seva Café is radically different from capitalist notions that power most modern-day interactions. At the café, you can enjoy your meal, which is being offered to you as a genuine gift from a guest who has dined at the Café previously. To complete the circle of giving, you can leave a donation to pay for the meals of other guests who will come in after you. All profits made are donated to charitable causes. In a world of give and take, the "give and keep giving" ethos of the café is, to say the least, refreshing in its simplicity and purity.

Continuing customs

The founders say that the inspiration for the café springs from an age-old Indian custom that gives the highest honour to guests (Athithi Devo Bhava). The unhurried and warm atmosphere of the café is aimed at making guests feel like they are, in fact, at home. "At Seva Café, we offer greater nourishment than food alone. Here, not only will you find yourself in a unique, service-inspired environment...you will find yourself at home," says a sign at the entrance of the restaurant. Indeed, guests are encouraged to freely interact with the servers and other guests, and can even cook a meal at the café if they wish to. So moved have volunteers been that some have even washed their dishes at the end of their meal. "I remember one family that was so moved that they decided to stay back to wash all the dishes and clean up after the restaurant closed," says Jagat, a volunteer.

Indeed, the touching stories that have emerged in the Café's short existence are enough to fill a good-sized book. People from around the world have been inspired by the Café's simple yet powerful philosophy; a group of volunteers of the organisation "Be The Cause" has even opened up a Seva Café in Long Beach, California. Nipun Mehta, who volunteered as a waiter at the Café during its inauguration, says he had an inspiring story for each day that he volunteered. One day, he says, he was touched by a simple act of kindness of an unassuming 20-something-year-old girl who came up to him just as she was about to leave, and handed him a stack of folded hundred rupee bills and asked if he could do something good for someone, on her behalf, with the money. "Although my typical response would've been to rebound ideas to get her to engage in some acts, I felt like she was attempting to connect our journeys over a bridge of service," he says.

Inspiring others

One day, another volunteer remembers, a man walked in hesitantly and looked around the café in disbelief. He'd heard about the idea, he said, but he couldn't believe it was true. After a while, he asked if he could cook and serve at the café one day. "I sell chaat and golgappas at a stall across the street," he said. "Me and my friends had heard about this place, and would also like to participate in this opportunity to give," he said.

Ultimately, the café aims to ignite the spark of humanity and service in as many people as possible, irrespective of nationality, community or class. In addition to its energetic volunteer staff, guests can also draw inspiration from the Café's art gallery, its abundance of information on community service projects in Ahmedabad and the inspiring quotations that decorate the space. At the very least, a meal at the café will leave you with much food for thought. As another sign reads: "Seva Café invites you to feel at home and engage in inspiring conversation. We ask you to feed your mind and your soul by taking the idea of selfless service beyond our walls, into your daily life and into your community. Are you ready to be the change you wish to see in the world?"

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/10/08/stories/2006100800110400.htm