Sewa Cafe

Over the past six weeks I've been to the Sewa Cafe quite a few times, and each time has been very different. But I feel that every time I go I gain a better and better understanding as to what it's all about. Sewa Cafe is one of the many, many restaurants in Ahmedabad, but unlike all the others there is no fixed price- you give from the heart! T'is based on the gift economy.
Let me paint you a picture...
The first time I went to Sewa Cafe for dinner was during my first week. We got out of a rickshaw and stepped onto a bustling street, roaring with the sound of traffic. There on the other side of the street on the top most floor was Sewa Cafe and Gramshree.
Sewa Cafe is beautiful.We stepped out of the lift into the waiting area which leads to an open-roofed dining area! The contrast between the noisy street and the tranquility indoors is really striking! I shall post some pictures soon...
As we came to sit at our table we were greeted most graciously by the waiters- who are all mostly volunteers by the way- and a glass of cool FILTERED water.
Written upon a chalk board was five different dishes- which change every day. That particular time we filled our bellies with hot sweetcorn soup, biryani, pasta, panipuri and icecream, all the while soaking up the soothing ambiance created at Sewa Cafe. At the end of the meal we were given an empty envelope in which we could give as much or as little money as we wanted to, and anonymously.
So the idea is that the money you give is paid forward as a gift, i.e it pays for the next person who comes to eat at Sewa Cafe. Hence your experience at the Sewa Cafe does not simply end when you leave the restaurant; instead you become part of a never ending chain- a circle of giving. Brilliant.