Kolkata boy opens the first ever floating restaurant on sea!

Mumbai is all set to take a leaf out of Kolkata’s book.India’s financial capital and richest city has decided to follow the City of Joy’s footsteps and launch their first ever floating restaurants on the Arabian Sea. After a month in sea, Mumbai’s first cruise ships – Neverland and See Yah have finally reached India.

Indian husband-wife duo Mridul Thirani and Shripriya Dalmia Thirani received the ships this week in the Mumbai Port after it set sail from Turkey. The ships will be Mumbai’s first ever floating restaurants which will also cruise between Gateway of India and Chowpatty. After scouting across the globe, the Thiranis zeroed in on these two ships in Turkey each having a capacity to host 400 diners. In a proud moment, the duo hoisted the Indian flag over the Bosphorous in Istanbul along with two of the ship’s original owners before it set sail for India.

Kolkata has had Floatel – the on deck 24-hour multi cuisine restaurant – The Bridge and the Anchorage Bar, for nearly a decade now. Even though Mumbai has over 500 restaurants across the city, all of them are on land. Interestingly, the responsibility of setting up the first two floating restaurants has been given to the young Delhi based couple with – once again – a Kolkata link.

Thirty-seven-year-old Mridul was born in Kolkata and spent some of his formative years in the city – when he picked up two of the things he is most passionate about – water and food.History was made when the duo in the late 30s won the first ever bid. Both of them who are rank outsiders in the food and restaurant business beat industry honchos and swung the tide towards them. Mridul who is primarily in the construction business and has been very successful in most of the ventures he has dabbled in, spent the most impressionable years of his childhood in Kolkata’s Bhawanipore area before the family moved to Delhi. Reminiscing Kolkata, Mridul said “Kolkata is my first love. I was born in the Woodlands Hospital and lived five years in Bhawanipore. Kolkata developed in me the love for water-fronts. As a child I would be fascinated seeing the Ganga flow along the city.”

“On the other hand, one of the greatest legacies of Kolkata is its street food. I love the phuchkas and always have them as soon as I land in the city which is now home to many of my relatives.Good food is intrinsic to my nature, thanks to those years in Kolkata.”

The husband-wife duo intend to give India the best international food ever on the most incredible location overlooking Mumbai. The Thiranis intend to open up the restaurants this year. Passengers will be picked up from designated points across Mumbai’s coastline and taken on board the ship for an “unparalleled dining session coupled with a cruise that would allow people to see the city from the water”.

Shripriya also intends to open the ships for fairy tale destination weddings. “Water is a very auspicious space and perfect for Indian weddings. Many Indian families you will see now are travelling to sea side destinations for their weddings. Now they don’t have to travel too far. I have brought that fairy tale to their doors now. The two ships can be a perfect host – maybe one for the bride’s side and the other for the groom’s side. Shripriya has chosen to name one ship inspired from the immortal story of Peter Pan and the phenomenon of never growing up. Neverland will sail the Arabian Sea – along the coast of Mumbai from early 2018.