Serving the poor, one dosa at a time
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On a small road close to the Woraiyur police station in Tiruchi, a nondescript constructing with clay tile roofing is the dwelling and store of S. Chinnathambi. Hungry guests come right here from throughout the metropolis for his dosa.
Crossing into a quiet a part of the locality, away from the busy Woraiyur Market, one can see steam evaporating from a scorching pan. Here is Chinnathambi’s store, which opened 5 years in the past. It sells small dosas for ₹2 every in order to serve the poor. If ‘idly podi’ is sprinkled on it, it prices ₹3 every. If it’s made like an ‘uttapam’, dressed with onions and carrots, it’s priced at ₹4. Small plastic stools are lined up in entrance of the store, which is open from 7 p.m. until midnight.
Mr. Chinnathambi had labored as a cook dinner at a resort close by till 5 years in the past. The resort proprietor himself helped him arrange the store. “We made a conscious decision to serve dinner. While lunch is available at pushcarts across the city, a good dinner is difficult to come by. One must not sleep on an empty stomach,” he says.
“We manage to carry on the business since our family is involved in it; we do not do it for the profit. There are people who come with just ₹10 and eat three dosas and an omelette. There have been many nights when I have gone to sleep hungry, and I do not wish it upon my worst enemies,” he says.
Mr. Chinnathambi wakes up at 4 a.m. to soak rice and urad dal for the batter. “The rice and the dal soak until 11 a.m. when it is ground. The batter is left to ferment until we are ready to open the shop,” he says.
In the meantime, Mr. Chinnathambi and his spouse put together coconut and ‘kara’ chutney, two kinds of kurma and sambhar. His two daughters, one in Class 12 and the different in Class 10, assist them. “We grind 9 kg of rice every night. There have been nights when we have run out of batter and have had to buy it from nearby stores,” he says.
On common, over 100 clients have dinner at Mr. Chinnathambi’s store daily. He makes 600 to 800 dosas a day. Among his clients are individuals who work via the day at the Woraiyur market and lots of youth. “The youngsters have watched YouTube videos on my shop and come to try it out,” he says. Kids residing in the locality, too, rush to the store to eat one or two dosas.
“They tell me that they get dinner for the price of a chocolate,” he laughs.
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