Survival is an innate instinct. Perhaps that is what drove these three young men to stand up and take control of their own lives.
They lost their jobs due to recession, like many others who received the pink slip, they applied for fresh jobs. But fate had a different plan for them.
B. Ranjeet Kumar, an employee of a bank lost his job during October last year. “I didn't know what to do. I worked for a catering company for a while and decided to do something on my own,” he says.
However, it was not long before he stumbled on the idea of setting up a ‘curry point' near Mint Compound, Khairatabad. “Instead of sulking about being unemployed, I just wanted to get on with life and at that time, my cousins, B. Harish and B. Rajesh Kumar lost their jobs too. We thought it would be better to start our own business and create employment for other people as well,” says the 30-year-old.
The curry point became an instant hit and later it was turned into a meal point, offering more variety of food. The aroma of homemade food soon became their success formula. Right from lentils, vegetable curries, sambar and not to mention chicken curry, a lot of people throng the place for a scrumptious bite.
“We started serving meals from January at Rs. 25 per plate and soon we started having regular customers. After sometime, we set up a tiffin centre in a shed near the compound too,” says Mr. Harish.
A plate of meals comprising rice, sambar, pickle, papads and two curries is priced at Rs.30, egg rice is sold for Rs.40 and chicken curry is available for Rs.45.
The meal point is setup at 11.30 p.m. and is closed down after the rice is over.
“The quality of food is good and its pricing is attractive too. I make it a point to stop here and have lunch if I'm passing this way,” says Kranti Kiran, a marketing executive.
Given to the popularity of the place, a lot of people are seen stopping over for a meal while the trio take turns in regulating traffic in the area.
“We don't want to cause any inconvenience to motorists and try to keep the roads free of traffic jams,” says Mr. Harish.
“There are a lot of people who lost their jobs in the recession. But they should respect dignity of labour too. They might be apprehensive of serving food or cleaning plates, but at the end of the day, it all boils down to survival,” adds Mr. Ranjeet.
