The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Taste hot, crispy dosa for just Re. 1!

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Sunday, Jul 13, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Taste hot, crispy dosa for just Re. 1!

D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao

The secret of her success is she does it all alone

- Photo G. N. Rao

Delicious dosa: The roadside stall run by Shanti.

YELLANDU (Khammam dt): What can you buy with Re. 1? Well, nothing, you may say. But ask denizens of this tiny town. Pat comes the answer. It fetches the delight of Yellandu. Wondering what is it? Then head straight to the roadside stall run by Shanti, a tribal and member of DWCRA group. Give her the amount, and a hot crispy plain dosa served with tomato chutney is all yours! No wonder, people make a beeline to savour the delight.

The stall is the favourite destination of coal workers on their way to the mines, railway workers, vegetable vendors and schoolchildren. There is no change either in its taste or in its cost for the past five years.

The secret of her success is that she does it all alone. If her investment is Rs. 100 for the day, she takes a profit of just Rs. 50. It is unfair to expect anything more, she says. “My patrons are mainly from the slums. A majority of them eat now and pay later,” she says. Of course, she is sure that the dues will be paid on wages day of the coal workers. The prices of all commodities are up. But still she manages to keep the price pegged without compromise on quality.

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