Chacha’s milk shake parlour, the lifeline of North Campus

It is not just another milk shake parlour, it's the soul of hostellers of North Campus. This outlet came up at a time when drinking a glass of milk was a luxury for them, reports Karan Choudhury.

It is not just another milk shake parlour, it's the soul of hostellers of North Campus. This outlet came up at a time when drinking a glass of milk was a luxury for them.

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Started in 1956, it was originally a soft drinks shop, which later became the now famous Chacha's Shakes Parlour. It has served milk concoctions to thousands of Delhi University (DU) students in an era when there was no packaged milk available.

Outlet owner Chandrashekhar Rastogi said: “My father started this shop, I joined him in 1969. In 1975, we started serving milkshakes and other milk-based items. I saw that DU students, especially hostellers, were not able to get milk. The only way to get some milk was either standing in long queues or hiring a milkman, which was not possible for them or economically viable. From that day onwards, our shop has been a big hit with students."

The shop has an array of milkshakes. There is the regular fair of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate milkshakes available and there are others like apple milkshakes made from fresh apples. There is no room for concentrates at this shop. The hottest selling chilled milkshakes here are banana shakes, cold coffee and butter-scotch.

The place is always filled with regular customers who do not even place the order, as the owner knows which shake they want. "People just keep coming back for more. Everything served here is fresh and fits the pocket of the DU students. Milk might now be easily available but students and especially hostellers come to our shop regularly to have their favourite shake," added Rastogi.

The prices are reasonable and all the items are between Rs. 15 and Rs. 30. The shop also serves a large variety of ice-cream sodas, pastries and sandwiches.

The place also boasts of having huge fan following among the now famous personalities who visited the joint during their college days. "Famous personalities like actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda, (alumunus of Kirori Mal College) and TV personality Vinod Dua (who attended Hans Raj College) were all regulars at our shop," said Rastogi.