JOIN USIn the hustle and bustle of Sampige Road, the shopping centre of Malleswaram, a little bajji and sweets shop lies nestled between two buildings.
The quiet and unassuming store is rarely spotted by passers-by during the day but post-evening, people rush to get their share of the freshly-made fried items.
The tiny shop is not bigger than a shoe rack but gets more customers than the fast-food joints in the area. It has a long history as well. The shop dates back to 27 years when Narasimaiah Gowda started it with his friend KC Basavaraju.
Narasimaiah’s son, Raghu, can also been seen helping out with his mother, Prema. He says his father worked in Pradhan Bakery for many years and when that closed down, he started this. “I joined my father because I wasn’t interested in studying.”
Their day starts at 6 am when Narasimaiah goes to the vegetable market. “We are open from 9 in the morning till 10 in the night. But we start making the bajjis and bondas only after 4.30 pm,” says Raghu. By 4.15 pm, there are people waiting outside the shop for the chilli bajjis, udhina vada, potato bonda and masala vada. The large number of items they fry vanish within minutes. Ganesh and his wife say they have been coming to the shop for the past 16 years.
“Each time we pass by the shop, we make sure we pick up something. Even if we can’t finish everything, we hand it out to our neighbours and they are happy. They haven’t altered their taste since I’ve been coming. And they serve good quality food,” says Ganesh.
They also cater for weddings and have a lucrative business there. “We cater to almost 30 to 40 weddings every year,” says Raghu. Along side this, they have a small coconut water business. “Someone else used to run it but once he left, we took it over because we didn’t want some cigarette shop or something to come up,” he adds.
The shop, as popular as it is, has no name. Raghu says they never wanted to give it a name although they have registered it.
“We have been in the same area for the past 27 years. We were in the shop next door for a couple of years and the one in front for a few more, but we eventually came here,” says Basavaraju.
They also make Mysore pak, jalebi, ladoo, peda, chakli and muruku and pakoda. Pooja says she has been coming to the shop for the past 10-years and loves their bajjis and sweets. Suresh says he had come on business from Hebbal and had stopped on his way to eat at Narasimaiah’s shop. “For the past 10 years, I make sure I come here whenever I can.”
This nameless shop can be found on Sampige Road, Malleswaram, in between 13th and 15th cross (next to Cafe Coffee Day). For details, call 9743001806 or 8550858435.