“My name is Jhansi Rani and I hail from Thirunelveli district. I have been running this stall for close to 12 years now. I used to have a tiffin stall somewhere beyond the turning of anna arch but currently, I have shifted to the snacks and tea stall since it’s a temple festival season and people don’t usually eat outside. I came into this business because of our love for food in general. As nadars, our primary source of income has always been the food business. Many of our family members are have been associated in the food business from a very long time. We used to make pickles and sell it to mainstream brands. Also during festival seasons, we used to make a variety of palagarams and also sweets when big brands in the city used to outsource to us. So this stall has always been fuelled by my passion for cooking. I ensure that even when I do the bare minimum, I always make authentic dishes without the use of additional chemicals like soda salt and such! It is quite alright even if I don’t make a large sum of money but I have my conscience to answer to at the end of the day and I can’t go against that. I use only trust worthy oil brands and throw it away after a day’s usage. Reheating and using the same oil over and over is not very healthy and I am mindful of that. The leftovers from a day, I feed to a couple of stray dogs near my place. I have always wanted to stand on my own two feet in my life and this venture has been my humble attempt at that. Whatever sum of money I make from this, meagre or otherwise, contributes to the family and the society at large. People need to read these stories of small business owners and come support us in times of need. If we can avail loans at reasonable interest rates, we can also make progress and try to level up our business.”