Hotel of commoners serves happiness

Mangalore: Can one buy a filling meal for Rs 5 or 10 in Mangalore? Surprisingly, the answer is yes!

At a juncture of time where Rs 5 can buy you a banana or a pack of biscuit, a hotel in Padavinangady in Mangalore serves sumptuous vegetarian meals for Rs 10. The rates are further suibsidized to Rs 5 for students.

Located opposite Mahalasa Temple in Padavinangady and calledHotel of commoners', this joint has a regular 500 to 600 customer savouring the meals and breakfasts on daily basis. The humble pricing in the hotel has come a blessing to factory workers, students, daily wage labourers and local residents near Padavinangady and Kavoor.

Hotel Chandrahas owned by Chandrahas Gatty is functioning here since 1977 and there has been not even a single day when Chandrahas has bothered about strategies to lure more customers.

The menu is quite simple. The meal consists of a serving of rice, sambar, vegetable sukka, vegetable curry and pickles. While all this comes at a cost of Rs 10, a glass of buttermilk costs just Rs 1. A glass of curd costs Rs 5.

Mr. Chandrahas's logic in life is simple. He believes in earning for his need not for his greed.

“With this kind of pricing I earn enough for a decent living. I do not want to amass more money, neither do I want to commercialise my venture. I have earned enough of blessing from the poor for whom entering a hotel is a scary venture. The prices are fixed by me according to my expenses and the main aim of this kind of pricing is to keep my hotel open even for the poorest of the poor,” says Chandrahas adding that he takes pride when a commoner comes looking for his hotel.

For Ravish Naik, a PUC student studying in Padavinangady, Hotel of the Commoners is his second home, where he relishes his yummy meals that too spending just a coin of Rs 5.

“My friends say that even push-carts sell snacks at higher price. I come here every day to have my meals. Nobody today believes that meals are available at Rs 5,” says Ravish adding that it took some efforts to make his friends believe that it is a truth.

Auto drivers Anson and Lokesh too have a similar opinion. They say that having a cup of tea and snack in city means spending about Rs 25. However they can whole meal at Rs 10.

With earning just for his needs and having not nurtured any greed, Chandrahas is a happy businessman earning lots of blessings from his connoisseurs.