Press "Enter" to skip to content

Anand Mahindra Builds a House for Tamil Nadu’s ‘Idli Amma’ after Promising Help in 2019 – News18

Over a year after business magnate, Anand Mahindra promised to invest in the idli shop of a Tamil Nadu woman, the chef known fondly as ‘Idli Amma’ on social media finally is set to get her new home. ‘Idli Amma’ or K Kamalathal became a household name after a The News Minute video of her selling idlis at Re 1 went viral in September 2019. The Tamil Nadu woman, who has been selling idlis at nominal prices for over three decades now, found thousands of admirers online after Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group shared her “humbling” story on Twitter.

The 80-year-old K Kamalathal is originally from Vadivelampalayam village near Peru and sells idlis for just one rupee per piece along with sambhar and chutney so that daily wage workers are not forced to toil hard throughout the day on an empty stomach. The nominal-priced idlis also help them save money for their families.

When Anand Mahindra found a video of her making idlis on a wood burner and selling them at throwaway prices, Mahindra decided to “invest” in the Kamalathal and said that he will buy her an LPG burner. Following Mahindra’s viral tweet, Bharat Gas Coimbatore offered Idli Amma a new LPG connection.

And now, it seems that Idli Ammi is all set to move into a new home that she can call all hers.

“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 idli,” Mahindra tweeted.

It seems that the investment promised by Mahindra into helping Idli Amma’s business grow was planned according to the woman’s needs. For instance, it was Kamalathal who said that she needed a home where she could have a regular LPG connection and good cooking space that she could use as her ‘Idli kitchen’. This will not only allow her to produce and sell more idlis but may in time also generate employment.

Once Kamalathal expressed her wish to have a house, Mahindra Group’s Mahindra Living Spaces got to work on acquiring the land and constructing a house for Idli Amma as per her needs.