Jamshedpur, Jharkhand

Till five years ago, Avinash Duggar had a well-cushioned job as vice president of a steel manufacturing company in Jamshedpur, which is also known as the Steel City of India. He decided to quit corporate life and started a cafe. But, it’s no ordinary cafe. 

At La Gravitea Cafe, located about 130 kilometres from Ranchi in Jharkhand, you place the order in the most unique manner — using only sign language. And in no time you are served sandwiches, momos and other snacks. The cafeteria also serves 150 brews of tea sourced from various countries. 

What sets this cafe apart from all the other restaurants in the industrial town is that it is mainly staffed with cooks and waiters who are hearing and speech impaired. Duggar has trained them all to run the cafe and serve the customers with a smile. 

“In 2016, a girl came to my shop to have tea along with her brother. He told me that due to her inability to hear, she was repeatedly getting rejected in job interviews,” Duggar narrated to Gaon Connection. It is then that the former vice president decided to do something for the disabled people. 

“It occurred to me that I should do something to help such people. So I learned sign language to be able to communicate with people with hearing and speech difficulties. And then went on to hire them, train them and make them financially independent,” Duggar added.

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La Gravitea Cafe is a hit among its patrons both for the novel idea behind it, and the lip-smacking snacks and varieties of tea it offers. These teas are brought from a dozen countries like Brazil, Argentina, China, Nepal, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Japan.

Place your order in sign language

On a cool, breezy evening on July 6, a lady walked up to La Gravitea cafe and gestured to a waiter to get her something. 

Minutes later, the waiter named Suraj arrived with the order — steamy hot momos with mayonnaise and chili sauce and diligently placed the serving on the table. He then welcomed another customer and after an exchange of a few signs, went back to the kitchen to get the next order.

Twenty-seven-year-old Suraj is hearing and speech impaired and has been working as a waiter at the cafe for the past four years. Through his earnings, he recently bought a bike, he proudly told Gaon Connection. 

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“At present 11 people are employed by me, seven are girls and two of them have been brought up at an orphanage. All are residents of Jamshedpur,” Duggar informed.

But it wasn’t easy to train the hearing and speech impaired people for the job. Duggar had to first himself learn sign language to be able to communicate with them. 

From initial hiccups to an enterprising success

After learning sign language, Duggar went to a school for  hearing and speech impaired persons in Jamshedpur and found the contacts of some of the passout students. 

“Rooma Kumari was the first such person whom I found about four years back. I went to her house and tried to convince Kumari as well as parents that her life would be better if she earned for herself,” Duggar said.

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“Initially, neither Kumari nor her parents were ready to take up the job but after I brought them to my cafe and explained to them about how work is to be done, they agreed,” he added.

After Kumari, her five other friends — Rashmi, Komal, Suggi, Pooja and Monica also joined her at work. Now, 11 people work at La Gravitea Cafe. Of these, nine are hearing and speech impaired. 

“The hearing and speech impaired people are taught from the very beginning that they are good for nothing. That they’ll be provided everything free of cost. The big corporations also give them jobs just to meet their quota of corporate social responsibility (CSR). These corporations pay such people their salaries even if they work or not,” Duggar told Gaon Connection.

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But there are no such special privileges or allowances for the employees of La Gravitea cafe.

“They are treated as regular employees — no more, no less. If they take too many leaves, their salaries are cut and there are reprimands for coming late to work,” the restaurant owner told Gaon Connection.

From aimlessness to a life of purpose and self-dignity

Duggar further stated that earlier these people used to sit back at home and watch television all day long. “A life of idleness and lack of purpose is not good. They used to quarrel and do nothing all day. Now, these young men and women live up to something,” he said. 

By working at La Gravitea Cafe, they have become financially independent and are able to buy things for their families too. “They are earning an average salary of Rs 9,000 per month. The experience has been empowering for them,” informed Duggar.

So next time you visit the Steel City, don’t forget to step into La Gravitea Cafe and enjoy a cup of specially brewed tea. 

Read this report in Hindi