It was a
week before Diwali when I had gone to interview Mr.Badrinath, the current owner
of the iconic Dabba Chetti Kadai- well known for `Nattu Marundu` ( traditional
herbal medicines). The small shop on the
busy Cutcheri Road in Mylapore was teeming with customers. It took me almost 50
minutes to get the attention of Mr Badrinath, seeking an interview with him for
this article. He rightly advised me to come after Diwali and preferably around
11am when he would be comparatively free. Two weeks after Diwali when I reached
his shop around 11.30 am, on a weekday, I was surprised to find Badrinath still
surrounded by half a dozen customers. And there was a continuous stream of
customers arriving by foot, by two
wheelers, and by cars. It took me 45 minutes before Badrinath agreed to spare some time for me and
answer my questions while he continued
to attend to his customers – some
placing specific orders with a long list in their hands, some seeking his
advice about the ideal medicine for their specific health issues and others
seeking his approval for herbal medicines recommended by some other doctors.
Mr. Badrinath was catering to the demands of every one, unfazed, without loosing his cool and with information on his finger tips. He was being
helped by his wife and two assistants in identifying and packing the medicines.
Badrinath is the third generation of the
Chetty family to run the business started by his grand father Krishnaswamy Chetty together with his brother way back in 1885. Though initially
it was started as a Kirana shop also
having a paints section, it started specialising in herbal medicines only in
the early Nineties. The starting of Venkataramana Ayurvedic college down the
road in 1905 provided an opportunity for the shop to supply raw materials to
the dispensary being run by the College. That was the beginning of the
evolution of the shop specializing in Herbal medicines. Since the products were
neatly placed in tin containers on
display, it came to be known as the `Dabba Chetty Kadai` in the neighbourhood which
eventually became the official name of the shop-a memorable brand name for quality
herbal medicines, which has survived for 127 years.
Though in
the early years the shop sold only the raw materials required for making
medicines at homes based on Patti
Vaidyam, ( Grandma Remedies), in recent years based on the demand from the customers,
who were hard pressed for time, the shop started selling ready mixed medicines-
mostly `legiams`. Though the Diwali legiam is most in demand
during the Diwali festive season which lasts for about two weeks, what sustains
the shop is the continuous demand for post natal` legiams` used by young
mothers after the delivery of their babies. The shop also sells a few typical puja
items apart from a very limited number of branded Ayurvedic products, supplied
on demand.
I was also
surprised to learn from Badrinath that the shop which went through a lean patch a few years ago has picked up
business with a lot of youngsters patronizing the shop. It seems
the internet and the increasingly popular ``google doctor` are playing a major role in the revival of the
herbal medicines among the youngsters. I
could vouch for this judging by the number of youngsters who visited the shop. Three
of the six customers whom I talked to had come to buy the `Post natal Legiyam`.
Do his
customers come only from the Mylapore area?
Mr.Badrinath`s prompt response was, `No sir, they come from all over the
world. Wherever our people are located in India and the world, they come to us searching for specific items. Many of them are
from USA, Australia, Middle East, Europe etc. and belong to all age groups. It is the
word of mouth advertising and our
guaranteed quality which have helped us gain popularity over the years.`
Most popular items are `Chukku, Homam, Panam Kalkandu`.
The major problems for which the herbal medicines are sought are for
common cold, Diabetes and other seasonal ailments, besides , the ever popular `Post natal` legiams.
I asked Badrinath, a commerce graduate, who has been running the shop for the last 40
years, if he ever thought of growing bigger
and opening more branches like
what other Food and Snack units like Grand Sweets or Adyar Anandh Bhavan
have done. He said he was content with
the current operations where he could guarantee the quality of the products
sold from his shop which occupies just 180 sq. ft area and another 280 sq. ft godown area located in the neighbour hood.
He was
hesitant to talk about the future of the
shop. His two sons who are still in
college may or may not come into the business, as it involves a lot of hard work , sweating it out in a road side shop
amidst the constant noise from the passing vehicles enveloped by the
smoke, dust and grime which naturally
follow the heavy traffic on the road.
Yet, since it is a profitable business one of his sons might get into it and
take the `Dabba Chetty brand name` to
greater heights as the second generation of the owners of Grand Sweets have
done to that iconic brand. Let us hope Badrinath`s dream comes true and the `Dabba Chetty Kadai` continues to serve its
customers in the years to come.
This article has
appeared in the Madras Musings issue dated 1-15, December,2018
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