For the past 15 years, I have been working as a parotta master at a roadside stall in K.K.Nagar. I lost my father when I was 12 years old and started working as a part time helper in a hotel kitchen. It became my full time job once I dropped out of school. Gradually I perfected the art of making round dosas and parottas from a cook in Sellur. I have worked in over a dozen shops across Madurai. On an average, I now make around 750 parottas and an equal number of dosas daily. Making parottas is not easy as it requires kneading of the dough for hours. Daily, I knead 30 kilograms of maida , leave it for half-an-hour and then start rolling them into small balls which are later fanned and flattened to become fluffy soft parottas. Dosas are easier to make and I treat my customers to nearly five varieties of crispy dosas. I also experiment with the ingredients to add some zing to the recipes and feel good when the customers appreciate my effort.
I work for 12 hours a day from 12 p.m. till midnight and take home a daily wage of Rs.550. Sometimes, I go for other menial jobs to supplement the income. I have an aged mother and a mentally challenged brother to look after. Soon I will be getting married and have one more mouth to feed at home. I hope to open a restaurant on my own and make it big in life someday.
(A fortnightly column on men and women who make Madurai what it is)