One version of the origin of the name Colombo is that it is derived from the Sinhala word Kolamba, one meaning of which is supposedly ‘ mango leaves’
And any visitor to this green beautiful city will see plenty of Mango trees everywhere in this tropical paradise
But one particular ‘ The Mango Tree’ has come to represent India in a delicious mouth watering way. ‘ The Mango Tree’ is synonymous with the most authentic, affordable and mouth watering North Indian cuisine in Colombo. Especially for Sri Lankans. Started in 2004 , The Mango Tree restaurant fulfilled a felt need among Colomboiites for a truly North Indian fare that’s authentic and delicious. And affordable. Viraj and Crishanthi ( Crish) , the husband and wife team who are the owners of ‘The Mango Tree’ restaurant said “ we realised that there is a business opportunity. There was no genuine North Indian restaurant catering to the needs of the day to day Sri Lankan- one that provides high quality fare at an affordable price, so we decided to take the plunge. But we were very clear it needed to provide an authentic experience, so we brought down a chef from Mumbai. To make it truly authentic, we even brought down the ingredients from India”
The idea for the name ‘The Mango Tree’ came easy since we are both nature lovers and have several beautiful trees in our backyard that give us great joy. Hence ‘ The Mango Tree’
Crishanthi who is a Sri Lankan said “ In the initial stages we got the Indian chef to ensure authenticity but we also made slight modifications to make the dishes more appealing to the Sri Lankan palate. It’s not enough just to bring down an Indian chef, someone needs to train him on making it work for Sri Lanka. And doing that added to its success”
Over the years, The restaurant brand has been able to maintain a consistent high quality, and has got a loyal clientele who come back regularly. And over time the brand ‘ The Mango Tree’ has become synonymous with high quality Indian cuisine
Crish spoke about how on a hike to little Adam’s peak they took a break and there some Sri Lankans who were taking a break themselves started reeling off their favorite food at The Mango Tree. These are moments when one realizes that the offering we have – an affordable yet very high quality Indian experience is valued cherished and enjoyed by so many in Colombo. And this makes the daily effort of managing it so worth it.
‘ The Mango Tree’ offers the full gamut of North Indian cuisine from Butter Naans to chicken Tikkas to street food like Chaats to yummy desserts like gajar ka halwa to rasmalai. And Sri Lankans can’t have enough of it. Over the years ‘ The Mango Tree’ restaurant brand grew from one signature shop in downtown colombo to outlets in the famous Odel and Colombo City Centre. And in the new swanky One Galle Face mall , but the pandemic took it’s toll and it’s now back to the one signature outlet in the city and only one other franchised outlet
Viraj Panchal spoke of the challenges that spurred him to re think the business mix and how he has come back stronger than ever. “ We were forced to change our location- so we chose a more compact space to cut costs but we added value by bringing down high quality chefs from the garwal region of India, and we have a database of our loyal customers so we started engaging them actively to kick start our business again and I have to say it has worked. During the times when they could not leave their homes we tied up with key home delivery services ,so they stayed connected with the taste of The Mango tree food and now ,that things are back to normal they have started visiting us regularly with their families to enjoy an evening of chat and chaat or even some lassi and gossip”
The other big blockbuster hot selling concept are the Diwali sweets which is an annual feature. Come Diwali and some of the most mouth watering sweets like kaju katlis, malai chamchams and Kala jamuns are on offer and are quite the rage
Sri Lankans connect with India emotionally over many things- Food is definitely one such connecting factor. And places like ‘ The Mango Tree’ play a subtle yet crucial role in keeping the close knit bonds between the people of the two countries alive. Every time a pani puri with its delicious explosive concoction is enjoyed, a subliminal connect with India is formed. As we say “ The way to the heart is through the stomach” – let’s not underestimate the power of a simple yet delectable Paneer Tikka in carving a special space for India in the hearts and minds of Sri Lankan families. Simple yet high quality ideas like ‘ The Mango Tree’ are pulling way above their weight in fostering the people to people bonds between two very close neighbors- India and Sri Lanka. Viraj and Crish Panchal are true ambassadors for creating a concept that appeals to the hearts and palates of everyday Sri Lankans.
(The Mango Tree is a restaurant in duplication road Colombo)
( Santosh Menon is a businessman and a professional advertising strategist based in Colombo. He writes regularly on topics related to advertising, marketing and business in general)
