Delhiwale: The cultural melting pot at a capital café

A tea place full of foreign characters and some seriously good cardamom-flavoured brew.

Madan Café is probably the closest Delhi gets to those ubiquitous street-side cafés sprinkled across European cities.

The Madan Cafe is tucked away in Paharganj in New Delhi . (HT Photo)

Tucked away in the Paharganj backpacker district, any number of tables are placed right out there on the pavement. Where foreign tourists can leisurely gaze upon cows and dogs, pedestrians and beggars and whatever else turns up, out there on the lively street.

Probably a far better place to enjoy the café is deep in its tunnel-like interior where you’ll feel far removed from the everyday world of bustling Delhi.

But there’s no guarantee of solitude. Not at all. The other evening a New York photographer sipped chai and conversed. It turns out he’s authored a book on the Indian Himalayas. Another evening saw a couple from Croatia readily recalling their memories from the last Balkan War.

This morning an elderly Westerner saunters in, wearing a long robe like some mournful Shakespearian character. Soon afterwards an Indian woman sits down to order her standard breakfast of papaya juice and a chocolate pancake--with all the familiarity of a regular.

Then there are those patrons who simply turn up to while away the day. And, yes, the cardamom-flavoured chai is quite possibly the best in town.