For Jayapalashri Anil, coffee is a ritual woven into memory – mornings at the Mysore Palace filled with music of MS Subbulakshmi, the aro ma of fresh brew wafting through as the intricate rangolis get drawn. “I don’t think I can ever recreate that exact feeling,” says rajkumari Jayapalashri Anil, the granddaughter of Jaya chamarajendra Wadiyar. “But that’s the morning I cherish,” she says. It is this nostalgia that she hopes to bottle with Berunda Coffee, a heritage-inspired brand she recently launched with her 23-year-old son, Dhushyant Anil. More than a business, the venture is an attempt to preserve stories, traditions and the legacy of Mysore – through something as simple as an everyday cup of coffee. There’s a touch of royalty in the brand’s blends which are named after the famed Dasara elephants – Dhrona, Arjuna and Gajendra.
Unsurprisingly, Dhrona described as a ‘slow roasted and full bodied brew bringing steady strength to your cup’, has be come the most sought-after. “Dhrona was very much part of us as children. We would all run to see the ambari being put on him during Dasara. He was the superstar. So when we were trying to name our filter coffee, I suddenly said, ‘Dhrona’,” recalls Jayapalashri.
While coffee has long been at the heart of the Wadiyar family’s daily life, for Dhushyant, however, the business began with an entirely different memory. During a holi day in Taiwan, after struggling to find a satisfying cup of coffee, one particularly disappointing hotel brew became the catalyst. “My mother made some using drip bags from a convenience store. That’s when we started talking seriously about creating our own coffee,” he recalls.
What began as an idea for a brand called ‘Brew & Bond’ gradually evolved into Berunda Coffee, inspired by the mythical Gandaberunda, the double-head ed eagle that has long symbolised the Wadiyar dynasty. For Dhushyant, currently studying in London, the brand carries a larger purpose especially after noticing a significant gap in awareness about Mysore’s history and South Indian culture. “...it’s not only abroad, but even among young Indians. If we don’t preserve history, it will disappear. So, Berunda is also about heritage.” That philosophy shaped everything from the packaging, which draws inspiration from the painted ceilings of the Mysore Palace, to the stories attached to each blend. The family worked closely with a young creative team that immersed them selves in the history of the Wadiyars before designing the brand.
Despite entering a competitive market, both mother and son insist they are in no rush to scale. “I’ve put my name to it,” Jayapalashri says. “So there’s all the more responsibility.” The coffee is currently sold through the company’s website, with plans to expand cautiously into select cafes rather than mass delivery platforms. “We don’t want to simply put the name out there,” she explains, adding, “Anyone we work with must respect the heritage behind it.” As we close the conversation, Jayapalashri hopes every cup tells a story; while Dhushyant envisions it as a bridge between generations. “We want each brew to carry the flavour of Mys ore’s coffee-growing hills and also the memories, traditions and history that inspired it,” says Jayapalashri.