Bengaluru: Dosa lovers celebrate 75th anniversary of Vidyarthi Bhavan

They were attending an event commemorating 75 years of the operations of the restaurant. 
Founder of Maiyas, Sadananda Maiyas, Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty,  Prof C N R Rao, Justice M N Venkatachalaiah and poet Nissar Ahmed release stamps | Vinod Kumar T
Founder of Maiyas, Sadananda Maiyas, Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty, Prof C N R Rao, Justice M N Venkatachalaiah and poet Nissar Ahmed release stamps | Vinod Kumar T

BENGALURU: AS the iconic Vidyarthi Bhavan celebrates 75th year of its establishment,  several renowned patrons of the iconic restaurant in the city, including chemist CNR Rao, poet Nissar Ahmed and Infosys chairperson Sudha Murthy, came together at Ravindra Kalakshetra here on Friday to relive memories of the first time they took a bite of the crispy dosa with a sinful helping of palya and the signature chutney. They were attending an event commemorating 75 years of the operations of the restaurant. 

“My words aren’t equal to the happiness you get after eating dosas,” Rao said. “I was doing BSc when I ate the Vidyarthi Bhavan dosa for the first time. The next time I ate was with my wife, I was a newlywed then. I have eaten there on all happy occasions,” the Bharat Ratna recipient added.

Poet Nissar Ahmed reminisced, “In 1954, as a Central College student, I had dosa there and now I can’t as I have been advised not to have oily food. The Karavali people have brought international fame. The founder of Vidyarthi Bhavan, Ramakrishna Adiga, and his son Arun Adiga are among them.” 

The place that the restaurant holds in the hearts of people in Bengaluru is evident from the fact that Sadanand Maiya, the founder of the Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR), admired his contemporary rivals, and talked about all that made the Adigas famous. “I have been a patron since 1964. My uncle was the head cook then. During peak hours when there was no place to sit, I would be seated on gunny bags of rice and treat myself to sumptuous dosa,” Maiya said. 

Also present was Justice Venkatachalaiah, who heaped praises on the eatery. “This meeting is a metaphor of unity of what a humble dosa can do. No power can divide us. This is an example of the great integrating force of the dosa. We will take the world by storm if we can export it,” he said.  He later felicitated founder

Ramakrishna Adiga and his wife Bhagirathi Adiga.  
Sudha Murty, Chairperson of Infosys Foundation, recalled how she acquired a taste for Vidyarthi Bhavan’s delicacies after marriage. “All Infosys employees would be treated here,” she said. 

A special postal cover was released by Chief Postmaster General Charles Lobo. Only one lakh of these special philatelic cover will be produced, Lobo said. A coffee table book describing the restaurant’s journey was also released. It was sold at `600 on Friday, but would be available for `995 now. The postal cover was priced at `50 on the day, and the price would be increased to `150. 

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