A little over a year ago, the entire world was smacked in the face with an adversity called coronavirus that didn’t just push us all into an indefinite quarantine, but also in a mental, emotional, physical and most of all – financial mess. As the entire world went into hiding, economies crashed, those with limited means and daily wages were the ones that were hit the worst. In times like these, while we were grateful to have people step up and donate resources to those who were finding it hard to survive, like our very own Anand Mahindra, there are also people like K Kamalathal, an 80-year-old lady from South India who has been looking out for the poor and needy for three long decades now.
Selling idlis at the modest price of just Re. 1, ‘Idli Amma‘ aka K Kamalathal went viral on social media a while back, after it was found out that she had been in the noble business of making and selling idlis to the people of Tamil Nadu for over three decades now, for a price of just one rupee. Noticed by businessman Anand Mahindra, he shared her story on his Twitter account, after he was deeply impressed by her efforts. And what’s more, he’s now buying her a house of her own too.
The 80 year old woman who is from Vadivelampalayam village near Peru, gets up every day to cook idlis with sambhar and chutney and sells them for one rupee per piece. Clearly she’s not working for the money but for the satisfaction of feeding those in need. She wants to feed the daily wage workers with food that doesn’t burn a hole in their pockets, allowing them to save money for their families back home. And it was such thoughtfulness that attracted Anand Mahindra’s attention, who expressed his interest in discussing business opportunities with her.
Also Read : Meet Kamalathal, The 85-Year-Old Lady, Who Has Been Serving Idlis To Migrant Workers For Just 1 Rupee During This Crisis
One of those humbling stories that make you wonder if everything you do is even a fraction as impactful as the work of people like Kamalathal. I notice she still uses a wood-burning stove.If anyone knows her I’d be happy to ‘invest’ in her business & buy her an LPG fueled stove. pic.twitter.com/Yve21nJg47
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) September 10, 2019
🙏🏽 to the @MahindraRise team for understanding from Kamalathal how we can ‘invest’ in her business. She said her priority was a new home/workspace. Grateful to the Registration Office at Thondamuthur for helping us achieve our 1st milestone by speedily registering the land (2/3) pic.twitter.com/F6qKdHHD4w
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) April 2, 2021
The Mahindra @life_spaces team will soon start the construction as per Kamalathal’s requirement. Once again thanks to BharatGas Coimbatore for providing her a continued supply of LPG. (3/3) pic.twitter.com/NO6YtWr9b5
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) April 2, 2021
At first, willing to invest in her business by getting her an LPG burner to replace the wood burner she would work on, Anand Mahindra has now bought the Idli Amma a new home for herself. Posting a video of her on Twitter, the business tycoon wrote, “Only rarely does one get to play a small part in someone’s inspiring story, and I would like to thank Kamalathal, better known as Idli Amma, for letting us play a small part in hers. She will soon have her own house cum workspace from where she will cook & sell idlis.”
He added, “She said her priority was a new home/workspace. Grateful to the Registration Office at Thondamuthur for helping us achieve our first milestone by speedily registering the land.” It was heartening to see that the selfless efforts of this 80 year old lady, seeking only to do good for the community, were picked up by the universe that rewarded her.
Your great sir god bless you and your family sir
— narayanarao suragala (@narayanaraosur9) April 2, 2021
Anand sir your really a great human being.
— kennedykumar (@kennedykumar23) April 2, 2021
It's because of humans like you and businesses like yours, we are where we are today and the sky is limit for us 🙏🙏🙏…And yes, because of people like you, umeed hai aur umeed pe duniya kayam hai! 💐
— AdityaDeokule (@PutShortCallBuy) April 2, 2021
A lot of netizens have gone ahead to applaud Anand Mahindra for his deed, offering him blessings for doing something as kind as Idli Amma had been doing for years. Guess, the world is not that bad a place after all..