Occupation: Road-side dosa vendor
Come, come, we will talk while I steam these idlis. We set up our ‘thattu’ by 6 p.m. and business is brisk these days on account of the Sabarimala season when many pilgrims halt in the city to worship at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Moreover, with the music concerts [Swathi Sangeethotsavam] going on at the Palace, many listeners come for a quick dinner to our place. We have been occupying the same place, right outside the Kuthiramalika Palace, for the last 10 years. All our regulars make a beeline to our place for their dinner or teatime snacks.
Although I began by making idlis, now I sell more of dosas than anything else. Here, feel this idli … soft, isn’t it? Not at all sour too. I ensure that that the dough is not over fermented. In the height of summer, it is a real challenge. One plate of idlis along with unlimited helpings of sambar and chutney cost Rs. 30. Once the sambar and chutney get over, we close for the day.
Please wait for a minute while I serve these pilgrims. We serve only vegetarian food and we are well-known for our variety of dosas. Instead of the fat plump dosas that is made in most places in the city, I make thin dosas – masala dosas, vegetarian dosas, wheat and ada dosas. Vegetarian dosa has different minced vegetables mixed in the dough… good for the health conscious and children too. Seva is sold everyday. No holidays for us.
How did we start? Actually, my husband, Shankaranarayanan, would be the best person to tell you that part. He was a driver. But what kind of life would one lead as a lorry driver and how long would you be able to continue in that profession? It is a very demanding job and he had to travel a lot. That is when he suggested that we begin a small joint like this. That is how our Brahmins Thattukada was born.
To keep with changing tastes we added dosas to our menu of idlis. Three kinds of chutneys are served. I sell home-made rasavada, kozhukatta and idiappam too. But the high price of coconut is a deterrent. The rise in prices of all essentials has made an impact on our business too. However my regular customers know all that is sold here is homemade. My husband and I begin work at 10 a.m., cutting the vegetables, preparing the dough, soaking the lentils and so on. See, here he comes with the stove. Since the Corporation is very strict about littering, we have kept bins to collect the waste. Nothing is thrown around. That is why our place is neat. During the monsoon, since it is not a permanent structure, business suffers. But what to do, people like us with no capital cannot afford heavy investment. But we are trying to get some catering orders. That will be of great help to us. Our aunt is in the catering business too. It would make things easier if we could get an order like that.
We are happy with what we make. Life is peaceful. Earlier we used to stay in Tippu street. Now we moved to a house in West Fort. Our ten-year-old daughter, Sneha Parvathy, is a student of St. Mary’s in Pattom. We have aspirations for her.
(A weekly column on men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)
