After having won over many foodies in Ahmednagar for over 40 years, with his delicious combination of lassi and ice cream, the famous Durga Singh Lassiwala of Nagar is in Pune to enthrall the taste buds of food loving Punekars.

With three branches in Ahmednagar and one in Pune, Durvendra Singh Rajput, owner, Durga Singh Lassiwala says, "My father, Durga Singh Raj started this business 45 years ago. He had tasted Lassi with ice cream in one of the functions somewhere. He loved its taste so much that he went out of the way to learn how to make it and soon started a shop serving this in Ahmednagar."

The combination soon became popular in Ahmednagar. "I still remember the old days in Ahmednagar when I used to accompany my father to the shop. We used to initially serve mango and pista lassi with Ice cream. During those days, ours was the only shop that served this combination, and it goes without saying that the response was overwhelming. This encouraged us to start two more outlets in Nagar," adds he.

On January 14, 2007, he began with an outlet in Pune and introduced new flavours such as gulkand, anjeer, kesar, rose, badam, chocolate and strawberry in his famous lassi. The specialty of Durga Singh remains the fact that while most of cold drink houses also serve milkshakes, ice creams and juices, Durga Singh chooses to be loyal to lassi. " Lassi with ice cream has been our specialty in Ahmednagar as well as in Pune. But even salted lassi is quite famous amongst our customers."

The magic of the Lassiwala has undoubtedly cast its spell on foodies in Pune as his dedicated set of customers includes people coming from far flung areas of the town just to be able to taste the delicious combination of lassi and ice cream. Amol Jadhav has been visiting Durga Singh Lassiwala since the age of 12. "I used to go to the shop in Nagar that was located in the cloth market of the town. I juggle between Nagar and Pune and amongst the many uncertain things that I do in both the towns, what remains a constant is a visit to Durga Singh Lassiwala. I love the deadly combination of lassi and ice cream and I must agree that the taste has been the same since ages," smiles Jadhav.

The regular customers of the Pune joint also have their fixed preferences. Rasika Muley has been visiting the shop since the time it was set up. "Sitting here for hours with a glass of lassi is the most soothing thing on the earth. There is comparatively less rush in the afternoon, so we prefer to be here at that time. While some of my friends are mad about salted lassi and chocolate lassi, I love the gulkand lassi here," smiles she. Nivedita Kulkarni makes it a point to visit the shop despite the fact that cold drinks affect her throat. "Every time I consume a cold drink, it affects my throat but I love it so much that nothing can stop me from coming here and tasting the chocolate lassi and ice cream," adds Kulkarni.