BENGALURU: If you spot a crowd outside a tiny shop with a tarpaulin cover on Gandhi Bazaar 2nd Cross in Basavangudi in the evening, don’t be surprised. It is just a groupof locals who are gathered to indulge themselves at the Sri Raghavendra Stores , a landmark location in the area. For Basavagudians, it’s just another day at Gopal Angadi – and time for Aloo bonda, Masala vada and onion and capsicum bajjis.

Angadi history

In 1953 , NV Krishnaiah landed up in Bangalore, He began his career working in some eateries in south Bengaluru before Independence. Finally, he saved up enough money to open an eaterie. “He set up a fire stove near the pavement and began with the same five snacks that we offer today. At first, business was slow, but slowly, the smell of opnion and capsicum bajjis was enough to attract a dedicated local clientele,” recalls 61-year-old K. Anand, the son of the founder. Anand now manages the business he entered when he was five years old.

Krishnaiah’s recipe, a family guarded secret, was the key to success and of course the use of pure groundnut oil which Anand says has never been compromised in over six decades of their trade.

Family affair

Anand and his son Ashok take care of business these days with the father playing the chef and the son the seller. They are a household name in the area among a loyal clientele who drop in around 7 pm and wait for Anand to light the stove and begin cooking the snacks.

“We have a regular shop selling general goods and our bonda-bajji sale starts at 7 pm every day and sales stretch on till 11 pm depending on clients. Our customers believe in us and we focus on giving them good and quality food like my granddad taught us. Once they dine here they always come back to us,” adds Ashok whose tiny establishment is a crowd-pleaser not only for the snacks but also for a warm hospitality from father and son.

“I have been eating from the shop since I was a 20-year- old when my parents introduced me to the place. Now I come with my daughter regularly. The bajjis and bondas are like home food in every sense and the taste, quality and even quality is unchanged,” says 45-year-old Uma Haribal from Srinagar, Basavanagudi .

According to Manorajan Bhat, a regular from Hanumanthanagar, there is always a tussle among family when he packs home the snacks from Gopal Angadi. “I have been a customer for the last 20 years since I came to Bengaluru. This is one place where the flavour hasn’t changed with time and the quality is unmistakeable,” adds the civil engineer.

Pristine in every sense

Apart from the location of the shop shifting a few metres, Basavangudi’s most sought after snack den hasn’t changed very much at all. The Krishnaiah clan has kept the family tradition going strong despite stiff competition from copycat attempts in nearby in Gandhi Bazaar. “There are a few bonda-bajji joints that came in to give us competition over the years but nothing has affected us,” laughs Anand as he fishes out allo bondas from the hot oil.

Krishnaiah passed away three years ago and the old man had only one request to his son which was to uphold the family business under any circumstance. Anand recalls those words when he adds that he will run this food trade till his last breath. “It is my duty – and it is a trust – that my father and grandfather have bequeathed to me,” he says.

He remains a worried man on whether his son will take the chef’s chair after him. But Ashok has plans to diversify their bonda bajji trade which carries a price tag of only Rs 4 for a snack. After all, this old Bengaluru eating house stands for customer satisfaction.

Five snacks on the menu since 1953, a loyal clientele across three generations and an establishment that stayed the same for 65 years.

