JOIN USSizzling snacks for the evening
It’s that time of the year when you pull out your moth-bitten rug, order some pizza, switch on the TV and listen to the rain outside. But with the economy the way it is today, eating a pizza every time it rains doesn’t seem like a very feasible option, does it? Not that it rains very often either, but that’s besides the point.
A cheaper alternative for the people of the City is to head over to the nearest gaadiwaala and pick up a handful of steaming hot pakodas, bajjis and bondas.
The variety and prices they have can match anything any high-end pizza place has to offer. Chandrashekar, who operates in Malleshwaram, is one such gaadiwaala.
The oil hissed in anger as Chandrashekar expertly slid a chilli bajji into the large pan. He reached for another green chilli and dipped it into the stainless steel
container that was placed unoffensively in front of him.
Soaked in besan (gram flour), the chilli fell into the sizzling oil and was
cocooned. His friend Babu stood beside him and distributed the fried goods to the customers who had crowded around the cart. Chandrashekar looked a little guilty as he told Metrolife that he has priced his food higher than the other bajji sellers.
“The Reliance store is right here and I get good business. All the other carts in Malleswaram charge Re 1 but I charge Rs 2 and make it bigger,” he says. If auto drivers can get away with price hikes almost every month, people shouldn’t mind paying an extra rupee for a bajji, bonda or pakoda.
He has been haunting Malleswaram 11th cross for the past 28 years. “I used to work in a hotel before this but I got into a fight there and left. Soon after, I came
to Bangalore because my big brother was here but he passed away.” Instead of
joining another hotel, he started his own business.
“There was another guy on 13th cross who owned a bajji cart and he was going to retire. I trained under him for four to five days and started my own cart.” He first priced his bajjis and bondas at Re 1 for four pieces.
He says that he has a plot in his hometown of Udupi and worked on it for a while. “As a child, I fell from a tree and my hand got cut. My father was afraid it wouldn’t heal and didn’t want me to attend school. Instead, I was sent to work in a hotel and I regret that.”
In order to make up for his shortcomings, he is making sure his children get a good education. “I have to pay the rent, look after my ailing parents, the household expenses and everything else. But I make sure that my two kids study.
One is in second-PUC at Ammanni College and the other one is in fifth standard,” he says. He has gathered a loyal fan base over the years.
“I’ve been coming for the past six to seven years and I love his Mangalore bajjis,” says Chandrashekar, an auto driver who happened to chance upon him. Indu takes home uddina vada, chilli bajji and aloo bondas for her family on a regular basis.
Chandrashekar can be found on 11th cross, Malleswaram near Sampige Road. To contact him, call 7795709455. The best time to visit is from late afternoon to late evening.