Hours on the road, repeated visits, and several enquiries later, B. S. Venkatachalam found what he was looking for — a vaagai mara chekku maker. “I spent many days travelling in Erode-Kangeyam-Vellakinaru belt enquiring where I could find the wooden mill. My search ended at Dindigul,” he says. What makes this chekku so unique? “The cold-pressed oil extracted with this press has no LDL (bad) cholesterol. The wood absorbs the heat generated and maintains the oil’s composition. The chekku has a life span of two years and can churn 40 kilos of oil. I ordered for 20 for our unit in Ramanathapuram. While making the chekku, the vaagai wood is treated for 75 days. It is a special wood, so special that triumphant kings were greeted with ‘vetri vaagai choodi…’ that is how revered it is,” he says.
Cane sugar burfi. Photo:S. Siva Saravanan He says, “I want people to visit the unit, take a fistful of groundut, put it in the chekku. This will make them feel ‘I made this oil and it is healthy’. Transparency is important while selling a concept that promotes good health. I will offer five per cent discount for people who come forward to do this,” he says with a hearty laugh.
Venkatachalam’s desire to spread good health extends to his sweet shop, Varunas Sweets in R.S. Puram. He says he wants to bring back the healthy lifestyle and eating habits of our ancestors. “It is estimated that one in three people is prone to diabetes. This has to be tackled first. I decided to offer sweets that use only coconut sugar, coconut jaggery, palm jaggery, palm sugar and cane sugar, which are low on glycemic index. We use water from our mineral water unit Varuna’s in Siruvani.”
I bite into the thennan karuppatti mysurpak made with coconut jaggery. It is only mildly sweet and crumbles in my mouth. The mysurpak made with coconut sugar tastes earthy and bursts with the natural sweetness of coconut sugar. He also serves me savouries made in vaagai mara chekku karupatti oil. My favourite is the burfi made with grated coconut and cane sugar. “A lot of old-timers tell us the burfi reminds them of their childhood. They ask if we can make thaen mittai and kamabarkat using jaggery. We are researching now,” he says.
Coconut sugar laddoo. Photo:S. Siva Saravanan Even Prime Minister Modi said ‘bahut acha’ to his sweets, says Venkatachalam. The Prime Minister tasted several sweets on his trip to Coimbatore. Gujarati folk in the city enabled the sweets reaching the PM. “He asked his secretary to take note of our sweets and the philosophy behind it so that he could speak about it on his next radio talk. The PM acknowledged the enterprising spirit of Coimbatore people.”
Venkatachalam, who is also a garment exporter in Tirupur, has been a diabetic for 10 years. “I tried all kind of alternative medicine. I even travelled to Rajasthan to drink camel milk. But, nothing worked. In Kerala near Cannanore, I met a vaithiyar whose treatment helped me. So, I moved to Kerala with my wife to spend a few months there. The vaithiyar asked why I did not start something that would create awareness about good health among the public. So I started Varunas Sweets.”
He first went to the Sugarcane Research and Breeding Institute in Thondamuthur. “The team spends over 15 years to research a new variety of sugar. I learnt about the goodness of coconut. One kg of white sugar costs Rs. 35 while coconut sugar comes at Rs. 600. I distributed the sweets among hundreds of doctors and the feedback has been very encouraging. I also have the sweets without worrying about my diabetes now.”
Coconut sugar mysorepak. Photo:S. Siva Saravanan Venkatachalam ensures he spends time with customers to get ideas and feedback. “One of them suggested that we make porivilanga urundai, made with cereals, pulses, nuts and jaggery, a healthy snack eaten by our elders. It is rich in fibre, proteins, vitamins and minerals, and packs energy. Another customer suggested we introduce venthaya kali (made with fenugreek, jaggery and gingelly oil) and ulunthu kali (black gram porridge made with urad dhal, sesame oil, and jaggery). Traditionally, these foods are given to young girls at puberty to strengthen their bones and muscles.”
He says it is nice to meet people who are health and environment conscious. “One lady brings glass containers to take back our sweets. Her kids tell me that no plastic is allowed in their home.”
Venkatachalam also shows me murangai leaf powder and avaarmpoo powder.
“Both are used to make tea. We offer murangai leaf and avarampoo tea with jaggery free to every customer. Avarampoo improves blood circulation and keeps you active and alert while the moringa leaves is bursting with health. We don’t value it only because it grows in our backyard.”
Other projects
Going green
In August, Venkatachalam will launch a project where 15 varieties of keerai grown at his farm near Siruvani will be supplied to households on a monthly subscription. At Rs. 1,500, every household will get one variety a day.
Traditional recipes
His team of young cooks will visit elderly women in Madurai, Thanjavur, Coimbatore and Chennai and bring back traditional recipes. The dishes will be named after them.
Varunas Sweets is located at 103, West Ramalingam Street ( opp. Ramalinga Chowdeswari Mahal),
R.S. Puram. Open from 9.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. For details, call: 077088-95597
