The Never Melting Snowman!

Like any other after- work day, I walked past Freak Street after meeting friends at our junction in Basantapur and stopped at Snowman. The plain glass wall that showcased the cakes got my mouth melted. Without a second thought, through the old wooden door that has been there forever- by forever I mean since the time I entered the “Teen hood” and since the time I started to frequent Snowman, I went into Snowman café (Snowman, the place that serves the best cakes ever- well to me, it sure does).  The place was crowded and lit by candles (the lights were out) making it look homely and warm.

I looked around for a seat and it was amazing how foreigners overshadowed the number of locals there. In spite of being a small place with plain décor and walls smeared with murals that must have been at least ten years old, the place is always crowded! I grabbed a seat right next to the counter and looked at the cakes for not less than 3 minutes and ordered for a Chocolate Cake. It’s funny, but I always do that, look at the menu for a long time and order the same thing every time!

It had been quite some time that I had been there! As soon as I was done with my SLC, this place was my junction with friends and we played cards all day long, sang songs, bullied each other, made noise, got scolded for making too much noise and what not. Snowman had so many memories from my past; it was a part of who I was. As a teenager. Times when we thought we knew about everything- like a typics teen! God knows what we talked when it came to politics, but we did! Not only Politics but Love, life, religion and all the serious things. There were days when we didn’t have anything to talk about and enjoyed just being on mute mode. We got there as soon as it opened, i.e. at 8: 30 just for the sake of passing time and amazingly, the bill never got over 500 for 7 people. Making us want to go there the next day!

All of those friends were lost! They are now in different corners of the world but we do have wonderful memories of Snowman to hold on to. The c music selection was just so good! Listening to Beatles and John Lennon sing songs through the old speakers there and the hippies walking shoe-less made us feel like we were in the 1950’s! There were so many friends we made in Snowman! Every time we passed, we exchanged smiles, added each other on Hi5 (that was the trend back then). Just as my thoughts meandered all over the place, Raju dai caught my eyes and we exchanged a smile. I had heard about Raju Dai, the vendor of the café from many of my friends before and since I was alone and he was doing nothing, I started a conversation.

I told him how much I loved Snowman’s Chocolate cake and Cappuccino. And what he said next, surprised me! His mother made all of the cakes every day. That was something amazing and wow! I popped up more questions and he told me that his father, Ram Prasad Manandhar opened up Snowman in 1965A.D. as a small bakery where his wife made German influenced cakes! With passing time, the number of customers grew in an alarming rate. He told me that Chocolate Cake sells the most and then Juice/ Lassi. And he got a phone call and our conversation ended but it was an interesting chat.

After having been here for so long, I never knew what it was all about! Then, the clock struck 8 and I had to be home! So, I payed my bill which was merely Rs. 100 and walked through the swinging doors yet again! And I thought to myself, “I’m coming here again tomorrow!”



Thankyou Sudeshana, Raju Dai and Aman for posing for the pictures! =)