For nearly a century, a Tamil Brahmin family of Kalpathy has been serving hot meals early in the morning and savouring the contentment that comes along with it. Brothers Ananthan and Parameswaran are carrying forward the legacy of their grandfather at Lakshmi Coffee-Tea Stall, widely known as Lakshmi mess house.
A meal at 8.30 a.m. is a unique feature of this 96-year-old tea shop. Pay or no pay, a meal to fill an empty stomach is assured at Lakshmi. The old-fashioned grilled door of this tea stall will usually remain closed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Inside, a couple of tables and a few stools remain testimony to the long years of service.
The brothers serve tea and snacks in the evening. They feed at least 15 poor people every day.
Light on the pocket
The launch of Lakshmi mess house by Narayana Iyer, nicknamed Kullan Chami, in the early 1920s had an inseparable link with Government Victoria College, the oldest institution of higher learning in Malabar. A large number of students and teachers of Victoria College depended on the eatery for morning and evening meals. “Communist ideologue E.M.S. Namboodiripad used to eat from here while studying at Victoria. So did many professors,” said Mr. Ananthan. It used to cost only 75 paise for a month’s meal. “Our grandfather used to give a monthly concession of 5 paise for those who ate two times.”
Kullan Chami was a legend in his own right. So was his father Parameswara Iyer, nicknamed Pammachan, who introduced petromax, pressurised kerosene lamp, in Palakkad.
Mridangam maestro Palghat Mani Iyer and Carnatic musician V. Dakshinamoorthy were avid fans of Lakshmi food. Singer Jayachandran is among the dozens of aficionados who drop by.
A good number of Muslims used to visit Lakshmi after Iftar in Ramzan. “They love our food. But unfortunately this year, they did not turn up. I do not know what happened,” said Mr. Ananthan.
A large number of people approach the Iyer brothers for feeding the poor as part of various Brahmin religious rites. Free meals are often offered to the needy at the nearby Government District Homoeo Hospital. “We follow a typical Brahmin custom of early meal for breakfast. In fact, this used to be a healthy habit. But people have developed the habit of eating meals three or four times a day, which could be a reason for the failing health in general,” chipped in younger brother Parameswaran.
Their youngest brother Sreekrishnan’s son Narayanan is set to join Government Victoria College for undergraduate studies. He says that he will carry forward the great legacy of feeding. “We will not let this shop close,” he says with determination. Lakshmi mess house is all poised to go steady through the fourth generation.