BENGALURU: It’s tradition in Karnataka, especially in the southern part of the state, to celebrate the day after Ugadi with a feast of non-vegetarian dishes. Unlike other meats stalls, one of the oldest in Bengaluru — Papanna mutton stall — doesn’t seem to have been hit by the coronavirus scare. Loyal customers, though fewer in number, were seen waiting for hours outside the stall, albeit maintaining social distance.
Started 73 years back, the stall is located in Byatarayanapura, off Mysuru Road. They get their sheep from Kanakapura, Ramanagara and Magadi. This iconic butcher shop sees people come from far and wide for good quality meat. Now, Papanna’s grandson runs the stall.
Usually, the day after Ugadi, people line up outside the stall at midnight. This year, however, the stall only opened at 6 am. One of the staff members told TNIE that this year, sales have gone down significantly. “We expect a sale of 1,500 kgs on Thursday,’’ he said, adding that this is far less than normal.
Meanwhile, people were made to keep distance from each other, and boxes were drawn to maintain distance. This apart, the shop’s owner had put up a poster requesting customers not to enter without wearing masks or using sanitiser. Though mutton prices were higher than usual per kg — Rs 700-Rs 750 as opposed to the usual Rs 550-Rs 600 — people still made a beeline outside stalls on Thursday.