Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Meals, untouched by inflation

Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

POPULAR FARE: Vendors selling packed meals in front of the Secretariat gates. —

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A meal that gives the taste buds the ‘made at home’ feeling. Food that is a clean break from what is dished out at hostels and lodges. A packet that does not burn a hole in your pocket. Come noon each day and the Secretariat gate opposite the Cantonment police station resembles a take-away eatery; the only item on the menu is a packet of home-cooked lunch.

Lunch packets sell here for Rs.12 to Rs.15 depending on the quantity. “We serve more rice and curry like tapioca, fried fish and pickle for a Rs.15 meal,” says Rajamma who has been in this business for at least a dozen years now. Rajamma brings her food packets from her employer’s residence at Palayam where the meals are prepared by a group of people.

She, however, is not alone in this enterprise that has earned the patronage of officer-goers, employees at the Secretariat, police personnel and auto drivers, among others. Keeping her company (and competition surely) are Khaja Hussain and Lalitha. While Khaja prepares food at home with the help of his sister, Lalitha’s daughter assists her in preparing the meal packets. In fact it is from Rajamma that Lalitha drew the inspiration for ‘setting up shop’ at the Secretariat gate. Actually the Secretariat gate just happens to be the location for this ‘business.’ “If the police ask us to change the place, we are obliged to do so,” she points out.

Each of the three entrepreneurs sells about 65 meal packets a day earning close to Rs.1,000. For the trio ‘holding the price line’ has an existential meaning. While they can’t willy-nilly hike the price of the meal packets, the cost of preparing one meal keeps spiralling up with each passing day. They are now planning to charge one rupee more for a meal.

The only catch here is that there are no vegetarian meals here. According to Mr. Hussain preparing five to six vegetarian meals — that is the maximum that would sell — isn’t good economics. Moreover a vegetarian meal means more curries. That is not all. This ‘restaurant’ is open even on days when there is general strike or a hartal. It is only that afternoon thunderstorm that often plays spoilsport. So now, there is a ‘reason with a difference’ to march to the Secretariat gates.

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