India, March 17 -- On a busy afternoon at Nikhil Caterers' central kitchen in Dadar, its owner Nikhil Tipnis is in the midst of an unusual negotiation - he is gently persuading a long-time client to consider replacing ukadiche modak with shrikhand in an upcoming wedding menu.

Ordinarily, such a substitution would be unthinkable, but today, it's a cause for survival.

The shortage of LPG cylinders has begun to squeeze Mumbai's bustling catering industry. For kitchens that routinely feed thousands, LPG is not merely a utility but the quiet engine that powers the elaborate choreography of Indian hospitality.

"We have been hit hard. Large-scale event kitchens are heavily dependent on commercial LPG, and unfortunately there has been little c...