New York: As New York reeled under a severe power cut, the action of an Indian restaurant owner earned much praise for traditional Indian hospitality.

When the lights failed on August 14 night, several restaurants downed shutters. Those that remained open doubled or tripled their prices but the stranded had nowhere else to go. As ATM machines did not work and credit cards became useless, those with little cash had a tough time.

But in this greedy jungle, "Madras Mahal" on Lexington Avenue, owned by Nitin Vyas, offered free meals to the hungry. More importantly, it provided free cold water when the going rate for a small drinking water bottle was $ 5 compared to the usual $ 1.

The restaurant served rice with the Punjabi dish "channa-bhatura" and tea, which was much in demand.

Even on August 15 afternoon, there was a queue of hungry people outside the restaurant waiting for a free meal.

PTI