The steam wafts through the air carrying the comforting fragrance of piping hot idlis.
A silver-haired Gowramma, deftly handles the lid off the wide-mouthed idli pot.
The little round white delights are inviting enough for a hungry onlooker.
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And yes, an idli costs just Re. 1.
Long before the advent of the low-cost Amma canteens, Gowramma and her husband Vengatrama, sold idlis for 0.25 paise, and 0.50 paise.
That was three years ago, says Gowramma.
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Today, the couple sell an idli for Re.1, and a dosa for Rs. 2, out of their house tucked inside the lane of Poonthottam, off the main road of Krishnagiri Municipality.
Every night, Gowramma puts the rice to the grinder for the batter.
Before dawn-break, Vengatrama wakes up to make sambar and chutney.
By 8 a.m., the idli pot is hauled up and perched atop the mud hearth and the firewood is lit.
We cook as and when people come, says Gowramma.
This old couple barely remember the passage the time.
We’ve been doing this for 25 years now, says Gowramma, making light of the years in the business.
We increased the price two or three years ago.
Ask her about the Amma canteens, and she says, she’s heard of the place from the customers. Whoever comes to eat, wonders why I’ve price it so low.
One would think, this would have spared them of competition, given the taste of the idlis. Not really, she says. Walk a few ten meters to the left and turn right to the main road, and there is a new outlet.
Taking a cue from the couple, some others have set shop in the vicinity of the lane, for the same price.
Earlier, people from the government hospital on the main road, would walk down the lane of Poonthottam to eat.
They make Rs.150 daily.
Ask Gowramma if she had thought of increasing the price by just a rupee to double the daily earnings, and she seemed
convinced that it would not work.
“What if customers stop coming? What if they go elsewhere” she worries, lazily lying down by the fire place, winding up the day’s business by forenoon. Their three daughters and a son, are in Chennai and Hosur, with their families, leading lives of their own.
The world may have moved on weakening the value of a rupee. But inside the lane in Poonthottam, an old couple continue to feed people a decent breakfast for just that price.