It is just after sunset on a rainy October evening. The Auroville forest looks dark and imposing. But the dim light at Windmills flickers like a beacon of hope for the hungry passerby. Many a traveller and locals have often found themselves stopping for a quick dinner at this café. But what starts out as a meal often ends up as an impromptu jam session.
Anup Mech’s cosy two-seater café serves up simple home fare along with a side of home-grown music. The other draw is its periodic poetry nights, where budding writers and poetry enthusiasts huddle around the 50x70 feet space, reading out their works or listening to others’ masterpieces or just making friends… and sometimes a little more. Anup’s eyes twinkle as he says, “A few couples too met here for the first time.” He started this tiny space last year around Pongal, as a means of survival after moving to Auroville from Assam. It all began with platefuls of hot poha and beverages. And now, his menu includes dal , rice, sabzi (anything from rajma to pumpkin), chapati , chutney and salad. “At 4 pm every day, I start cooking. It is a buffet and I make hot chapatis when people come in. The meal is unlimited and priced at ₹90. That is what our avians can afford,” says Anup. He likes to refer to people like himself — those who choose to live here but are not part of Auroville, as well as the travellers — as avians.
Anup Mech cooking a meal at Windmills, Auroville
Anup cooks for around 10 people everyday. “There have been days when I have had to cook again because the food got over. But sometimes people who come to eat also like to help,” he says. Eventually, he started receiving requests from travellers who wanted to cook. That is how pop-up nights started. So far Windmills has hosted Mexican, Colombian and Vegan nights.
“People like our vegan hot chocolate,” he adds. The entire menu, except for the tea, is vegan. Papayas, pumpkins and bluepea flowers grow by his little shed. He is trying to grow vegetables and fruits that do not require too much of an effort, so that everything he serves is organic. Anup is also particular about cutting out the usage of plastic. That is one of the reasons for not tying up with a food delivery service.
Interestingly, Anup is also a DJ. It is his music that first brought him to Puducherry, where he played at a beach party. After moving here in 2014, he volunteered with locals and helped them in farming and permaculture. All the while he simultaneously experimented and developed his music. “Even now, during the day I practise music and only cook and do the café work by evening,” he says, adding, “I produce my own music. It is Electronic Dance Music. I also play the djembe and I am trained in tabla.” Like his music, does he also experiment with food? “I am planning to make this fermented dal that we have at home in Assam. It is a product from banana trees and made from the root of a banana tree,” he says. Plus, there is the tea that he makes with bluepea. It is a gorgeous blue in colour and turns purple when lemon is added to it, he says. But that is still a work in progress. Meanwhile, Anup wants to add a few elements to the café: a trellis with climbers and a pool with a bridge across it, to begin with. But for now, the whistle of the pressure cooker calls.
Windmills is located at Edayanchavadi, Auroville Main Road. For details, call 9167766854 or log on to their Facebook page. It is open from 7 pm to 10 pm.
