‘Arusuvai Arasu’ Natarajan, wedding caterer who was in the business for over six decades, died aged 90 on Monday.
His family members said that he had suffered a health setback two weeks ago.
Mr. Natarajan began catering for weddings in the city in the 1950s.
Along with his family, he catered for over 75,000 weddings so far.
“We believe he was given the title ‘Arusuvai Arasu’ by V.V. Giri, former President of India as our grandfather had catered for his daughter’s wedding. He gave personalised service a lot of importance and was a very good judge of what people liked and would serve them accordingly,” recalled Kamesh Narayanan, Mr. Natarajan’s grandson.
Lasting legacy
In 2017, Mr. Narayanan launched the ‘Arusuvai Arasu Fresh Foods’ range, which, he said, his grandfather was very supportive of.
His family said till last year, Mr. Natarajan used to visit wedding halls to take a look at catering.
“He was extremely passionate about food and catering. We have been carrying it forward with his guidance,” said Sowmya Ramesh, his daughter, who is also involved in coordinating their services.
She said the funeral would be held on Tuesday.