Every Deepavali, Jai Hind on Jalan Melayu in Kuala Lumpur fills with customers, many of whom have been coming back for decades for its traditional Indian sweets.
The Punjabi restaurant has been serving since 1946, and for more than 40 years it has been run by Bhoopender Singh, a former chemical engineer who never planned to make it his life’s work. He had ambitions in Australia, but quit his job and took over when the family business began to struggle, out of concern for his worried mother.
“The shop was being neglected. So I quit my job and decided to take over because of my mother. She was very worried about it. I kept it going, and it wasn’t easy,” said the 75-year-old.
His father, Dallip Singh, took over Jai Hind with three partners in 1946 and later bought them out to become sole owner. Bhoopender said the name came from India’s independence movement, after freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose ended a speech in Kuala Lumpur in 1945 with the slogan “Jai Hind”, meaning “victory to India”.
Its barfi, palkova and ladoo, made with traditional recipes and ingredients from India, remain the big draw at Deepavali, and some families have been regulars for 40 to 50 years. Whether the restaurant stays in the family is uncertain, as his two daughters live in Australia and his son, who is studying information technology, has shown little interest in taking over.
For now, Bhoopender has no plans to stop. “That I am able to stand here and serve and sell my sweets and make my customers happy. To me, that is my Deepavali,” he said.