“A man who wishes to make his way in life could do no better than go through the world with a boiling tea-kettle in his hand.”
— Rev. Sydney Smith, English writer
It is tough to miss this tea shop, which is located just across the Amala Annai Church on Theni Road here.
Though it seems pretty much like any other nondescript shop of its kind — it does not even have a name board — hundreds of patrons visit it daily. If you look around, you will notice two large portraits of MGR and Jayalalithaa hanging on a wall and the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol etched on the wall of the first floor. Nothing gives away the identity of the person who owns the shop.
It is actually none other than Finance and PWD Minister O. Panneerselvam, who has also filled in as the State’s Chief Minister in two short stints. At the shop, it is business as usual even as the Minister wages a bitter electoral battle in nearby Bodinayakanur.
Decades-old shop
Selva, the cashier, is not sure when the shop was started. “It should be at least 40 years old. A ‘tea master’, who comes in the morning, has been working for 40 years, right from the beginning,” he says.
A few of the regulars who come for their afternoon tea recall that in the past the shop was located closer to the road and moved to its present location much later.
In a meteoric rise that no one could have predicted, Mr. Panneerselvam, who used to work in the shop till the early 1990s, became the chairman of Periyakulam panchayat union and then an MLA.
In September 2001, he was first sworn in as Chief Minister after Ms. Jayalalithaa was forced to step down following a Supreme Court order, and held the post till next March.
In September 2014 he took over the reins once again after Ms. Jayalalithaa was sent to prison in a Disproportionate Assets case.
The shop, meanwhile, does brisk business even though it does not have space for people to sit and enjoy the hot beverage.
“On an average, we sell about 1,000 cups of tea a day along with 300 cups of coffee. During Sabarimala season, the sale shoots up,” explains Selva.
Does Mr. Panneerselvam ever visit?
“Yes. He performs the annual Ayudha Puja and visits the shop whenever he finds time,” the cashier says. A couple of customers also say that they have seen Mr. Panneerselvam in the shop, chatting with friends. “He is the same ‘Panivu’ Panneerselvam,” they say, referring to his humility.
