ALAPPUZHA: “C Vidhyadharan Manjula Bakery Mullackal, Alappuzha”
Until the 2000s, bicycles and cars fitted with loudspeakers often screamed this address as it snaked through the bylanes of Kerala’s quaint towns and villages. While the very sight might have seemed very peculiar to the uninitiated, for regular buyers of lottery tickets, it meant only one thing - someone was going to get very lucky!
C Vidhyadharan Agency, perched on the corner of Mullackal street overlooking the traffic island near Boat Jetty in Alappuzha, is a wholesale distributor of lottery tickets. But what perhaps etches it to Kerala lore is its rare distinction of being the lottery establishment that has fetched the most first prizes for its patrons.
Vidhyadharan of Manjula Bhavan, Thondankulangara, started the agency as an extra source of income to supplement his bakery business way back in 1968. In its 55-year-old history, the agency has seen “more than 120 first prize winners,” says Tensing, Vidyadharan’s son.
Sadly, a major portion of the establishment is slated to be demolished to make way for the reconstruction of the District Court Bridge. “Now, with a major portion of the land taken, only a small space remains for our businesses. We have taken a decision to continue the bakery, but will set up a small lottery retail outlet as well,” Tensing said.
According to him, the agency started going out of favour as more agencies mushroomed across the state in the 1990s. “Many big players came and started wholesale dealerships in different parts of the state. They sold their own tickets but sealed our agency’s name to dupe the customers. After this, sales declined drastically and the wholesale dealership was closed in 2000,” Tensing said.
Vidhyadharan’s passing ten years ago at the age of 78, too, nipped some of the agency’s charm. “The last winning ticket sold here was the Onam bumper ticket in 2011,” Tensing added.The state lotteries department, which began operation in 1967, was the first such in the country. The first draw was taken on January 26, 1968. Then, the ticket price was Rs 1 and the prize money, Rs 50,000.For a greater part of four decades, the fortunes of the Vidhyadharan agency ran parallel with the government’s bold initiative.