The stock joke on Malayalees’ largely disputable cosmopolitan character and adaptability to anything and any place goes like this: When Neil Armstrong landed on Moon, a Keralite was already there to offer him a cup of scalding hot tea at his Thattukada – a distant variant in Kerala of the dhabas of North India – established there long back.
The Thattukada on Moon could pass for a sarcastic metaphor but the fact today is that skyrocketing prices of essential commodities including vegetables, meat, eggs, cooking gas and firewood are threatening to decimate these roadside restaurants where good and cheap food is served from the face of God’s Own Country.
The newest addition to the adversities that the Thattukadas face is last week’s steep hike in the price – by `350 plus tax per cylinder – of lPG for commercial consumers, which in turn has pushed the price of firewood up by `1 to `2 per kilo. Thattukada owners say that it would be far better for them to close shop and try their luck in manual work that brings daily wages.
“Expenses for running the shop have trebled in the past three years but shops like ours cannot afford to proportionately hike the prices of the food items. With the Governments (in Centre and State) adopting policies that contribute to rise in prices, I don’t expect this business to be profitable again,” says Mathews, owner of a Thattukada at Peerumedu, Idukki district.
“It is hypocritical to say that prices of essential commodities are going up because of factors that are beyond the Government’s control. The main reason behind the situation is liberalisation which led to the transfer of commodities to futures. Now the decontrol of pricing of petroleum products is spelling disaster,” Mathews, a BA in economics, says.
Thattukada owners cannot be faulted for what they call an unprecedented hike in prices of vegetables. Moringakka (drumsticks), an essential ingredient of Sambar, was selling at `220 a kilo in markets across the State on Saturday evening. “Green chillies, carrots, tomatoes and all such items have become costlier,” Kunhumuhammad, a Kochi Thattukada operator, says.
“One of the ways to overcome this problem is to use substandard items, which I personally don’t want to do. Even those Thattukada owners who are not bitten by the scruple bug cannot do this because we prepare food in the open, in full view of our customers unlike the big restaurants who do it closed kitchens,” says Kunhumuhammad.
Price rise has affected both the vegetarian and non-vegetarian Thattukadas alike. “One of the most sought after items at Thattukadas is Kappa (tapioca) and Meen (fish) Curry. Kappa has become costlier by 100 percent in the past one year and even ordinary sardine costs `80 and `100 a kilo. We cannot hike the price of the item accordingly,” laments Kunhumuhammad.
Most Thattukadas are known for their tasty, hot and spicy beef preparations but this business had come to a total halt over a month ago due to the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the cattle. Import of livestock for slaughter from Tamil Nadu also has stopped because of this. There is no dependable substitute for beef as mutton prices are prohibitive, say Thattukada operators.
“One of the substitutes for Beef could be chicken as far as non-veg lovers are concerned but chicken prices have gone up by a minimum of `40 a kilo following the crisis in the beef sector. “We are selling chicken roast at `40 a plate but even `60 a plate is not going to be profitable,” says Kumarankutty who runs a Thattukada bear a liquor outlet in Thrissur.
A small shop-owners’ association office-bearer said almost more than 4,000 Thattukadas in the State had gone out of function in the past three months.
“Unlike in the case of big restaurants, which have a powerful association, the Government does not feel it to be its duty to listen to our grievances. So the only way before us is to close shop when the going gets tough,” he adds.
