Words fall short to describe the caring grandmother who at the age of 80, makes and sells fluffy idlis, chutney and sambhar for just Re 1 per piece. Meet K Kamalathal, a grandmother from Vadivelampalayam in Tamil Nadu at whose house people flock early in the morning to devour her delicious idlis.

Kamalathal belongs to a family of farmers and every day she would get bored when her family went to work on the farm. She decided to make idlis and serve them to the hungry and needy at a very low price. Majority of workers who throng the place are daily wage workers who are able to save their hard-earned money by eating breakfast at her place. Kamalthal says that a plate of idli cost Rs 25-30 outside and there may be only 4-5 idlis which may not suffice as most of them are daily wage workers who toil very hard to earn a living. So by paying per piece, the customer can eat till s/he is sated.

Kamalathal wakes up before sunrise an goes to the farm to collect vegetables for sambhar. She herself makes the coconut chutney and the delicious sambhar. She cooks with firewood and never uses wet grinder, but herself prepares the batter for idlis in the evening by grinding the soaked urad dal and rice in a stone grinder which takes four hours. The batter gets fermented by next day morning and she prepares soft fresh idlis with the fresh batter.

Many people advise Kamalathal to increase the rate of breakfast, but she wouldn’t do so as her aim is to feed the hungry. She is a great multitasker who very deftly serves the idlis to the crowd of people who wait in a queue to have a healthy and filling breakfast. The use of the stone grinder and mud stove impart a traditional and authentic taste to the morning meal.

Although her children insist that she stop cooking and take care of her health, Kamalathal who has been selling idlis for 30 years, continues her service out of love for the people who come daily to partake of a healthy breakfast.