A Centenary Publication

The MTR Story

A Labour of Love

by Pratima Chabbi

A hundred years of stories that had never been written down — now captured in a beautiful hardbound volume.

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Inside the Book

A Glimpse of What Awaits

Archival photographs, original illustrations, and food photography — every page tells a story.

“A chronicle of our century — an account of the men and women who built MTR, the thousand hands of its unseen workers and the loyal patrons who have kept its legacy alive.”

The Story Behind the Book

As MTR completed a hundred years, the family commissioned food writer and author Pratima Chabbi to chronicle the restaurant’s journey — not as a corporate history, but as a human one.

Chabbi interviewed three generations of the Maiya family, kitchen staff who’ve been at the griddle for decades, and patrons whose families have been visiting since the 1930s. The result is a richly illustrated hardbound volume filled with archival photographs, original illustrations, and stories that had never been written down.

From the founding by brothers Ganappaiah and Parameshwara Maiya in 1924, through the wartime rava idli innovation, the Lalbagh Road expansion, and the journey to six countries — this book captures the labour, the love, and the hundred small decisions that turned a modest tiffin room into an institution.

The book is written by Pratima Chabbi.

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