Short Story

Established 1957, in Asagaya, Tokyo, as a mom'n'pop Indian cafe. Jaya Murti christened this cafe AJANTA, taken from Ajanta caves, Buddhist
cave temples and monasteries cut into the rock, renowned chiefly for their magnificent wall paintings, a well known Indian word among the Japanese people during those days.

In 1960, to protect and look after a property of a friend living in India, the business and the Murti family moved to Kudan, Chiyoda-ku, in central Tokyo. Here, under a new name "Murti's AJANTA", took on to become a full fledged Indian restaurant. At this time there were only one other Indian restaurant in Tokyo.

Serving what they knew as Indian cuisine was what Jaya picked up from his mother back home, and in return taught to his Japanese wife, Sujata. And on to other local hire; many of them now run their own successful Indian restaurants, throughout Japan.

So, as it is now, the food served at AJANTA is Murti's home cooking from a small village called, Sambepalle, south of the present state of Andra Pradesh. If you are looking for a stereotype "Indian cuisine", we are not your kind of restaurant, peculiarly spicy and lacks finesse.

But growing demand for ethnic food and for ten years until another Indian restaurant opens in Tokyo, it was almost a monopoly. AJANTA gained status as the Indian restaurant of Tokyo... And today there are in excess of 500 authentic Indian restaurants within and greater Tokyo area. (There are more than 150,000 licensed eateries here in this city.)

Indian Spice Magic AJANTA, new name, now operates main branch at Nibancho, Chiyoda-ku, located adjacent to NTV, open from 10AM to2AM everyday.