Underground goes to Bangalore

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the managers of London's beleaguered Tube should permit themselves a small smile.

Several thousand miles from the British capital, Manu Mahtani and his two partners have been making a living for more than a decade from their unusual celebration of the ageing transport system.

The trio own and run The Underground Pub in Bangalore, one of India's fastest-growing cities and the centre of its burgeoning technology and outsourcing industries.

The bar - complete with its own version of the famous roundel to carry their business's name - has long been a favourite with punters along Mahatma Gandhi Road, the city's Oxford Street.

"Londoners when they come here, they immediately feel at home," says Mahtani. "They feel that they are in their place."

Outside, along with the logo, the Bangalore bar is decked out in Tube colours. Inside it resembles a station platform, complete with curved ceiling and posters imported from London's Transport Museum in Covent Garden.

Mahtani, who operates the bar with his son Sunil and older brother Lachman, says shoppers wander in from the crowded street wondering what sort of place it is. "They find it is a pub and stop for a drink," he says.

Eleven years ago the family had almost decided to open a sari shop there but, inspired by a rash of bar openings at the time, they reckoned that drinks were a better commercial bet than clothes.

Mahtani says The Underground Bar has prospered ever since, supported by expatriates and the town's increasingly liberated - and affluent - young adults. "It used to be a retired man's city," he says. "Now it's a much younger place." A handful of touring cricket teams have also been in during Test match series, with staff pulling pints for the Kiwis, Australians and Sri Lankans.

Mahtani says he and his partners are considering a refit for the pub. This may bring cosmetic changes, but it should remain essentially unchanged. "The name ' Underground' is very good, it is very catchy," he says with a smile. "Why change it if it invites people in?"