Shillong, Dec 21: If the Mumbaikars can, Shillongites can surely do it better!
Not to be outdone by the commercialized, the homebound Shillongites have decided to take on hunger their own way.
Heading out to grab a bite at one’s favourite cafe, quick delivery from Swiggy at the office itself, lunch- which is bound to have rice as the staple diet, has always been an all-important event for the thousands of city dwellers.
A fast-paced city life in one of the fastest-growing cities, after Guwahati, in the northeast, the young and energetic work force in Shillong seldom has the time or the place to sit down for a meal at the peak of day.
So, with the changes to work, the cuisine and delivery mechanism has had to undergo a transformation. The restrictions from the pandemic have added to the demands of the workforce for a wholesome meal with an error-free delivery mechanism.
In comes an entrepreneur with inspiration from the ‘Dabbawalas of Mumbai’ where food made at home is delivered to your table at your office.
‘Shillong tiffin’ a food delivery service that took off in November has made people sit up and take notice.
The young mind behind this novel idea is Waniarisa Nongbri who’s start-up has been getting rave reviews all across Shillong and beyond.
“Ethnic northeast cuisine at your doorstep for a minimum price sounds delicious, isn’t it? Well, Shillong Tiffin service provides a mixture of Indian continental blended with the northeastern style of tiffin,” narrates Ms Nongbri as she tells her story on how it all began.
With a small team of just five members, Waniarisa began her business with the primary focus on the hundreds of young working professionals in the city of Shillong.
The tiffin lunchbox is one of India’s most successful concepts. It’s not as you might think: an oblong chocolate cake that you see in Costa made with chocolate biscuits and syrup. That’s the British version. In India, it’s quite the opposite. It’s a homemade lunch, delivered to office workers who can’t go home for their midday meal, which formed the beginning of the humble lunch box.
“We are mainly on social media and we provide lunch and dinner at your doorstep,” Nongbri said.
The service is provided within the city limits with the price range starting for just Rs 79.
To promote entrepreneurship in Meghalaya and encourage young start-ups like that of Waniarisa, the Indian army’s Major General Ananta Bhuyan SM, ADG, NCC Dte, NE Region, felicitated the youth involved in the new start up “ Shillong Tiffins” at HQ NCC Directorate on Tuesday.
Complimenting the youth on the new startup and wishing them success, the ADG, during his interaction, expressed his happiness that more and more youth are coming up with new ideas and each of these contributes to Nation Building. He said that youth of Meghalaya have huge potential and the National Cadet Corps, being one of the biggest youth organizations, is always ready to support them.
Clearly, the taste buds of even the best trained soldiers have been kindled by this food start-up. After all, the old saying goes that “the army marches on its stomach”.
