A small eatery known as ‘Ajja Ajji Mane’ in Karnataka’s Udupi district run by an elderly couple is the internet’s latest sensation. A video of the duo is going viral as they are serving traditional food on banana leaves for an affordable price.
An adorable couple
A video of their eatery was initially shared by Rakshith Rai on Instagram. In the video, the elderly couple can be seen serving homemade food on the banana leaf. The unlimited feast that has rasam, dal, fries, pickle, salad, curd, and other items costs only Rs 50.
The duo has been running this hotel in Rajgopal Nagar, called Hotel Ganesh Prasad, since 1951. Nevertheless, people refer to it as the ‘Ajja Ajji Mane’. The eatery is famous because of the love and affection shown by both to everyone they serve the food.
Vasanthi Prabhu, 71, popular as Ajji Amma, said that the hotel Ganesh Prasad in Parkala, was started by her father-in-law Ramanna Prabhu, and her husband Gopalkrishna Prabhu assisted his father in running the business at a young age.
Vasanthi Prabhu worked in the HR department of Manipal press and retired in 2011 and since then, she has been helping her 79- year-old husband. For nearly 72 years, the hotel Ganesh Prasad was operating from a building on the main road in Parkala.
“Last year, because of the road widening works, the hotel had to be shut and we started offering parcel service from our home during the lockdown. Once colleges reopened in December, and since there was a demand, we started operating from our house. Office goers and students are our regular customers here, “ she said.
According to Vasanthi, on average, they serve lunch to around 60 customers. While Gopalkrishna Prabhu manages the cooking, Vasanthi takes care of the outside work.
“There is no major profit out of it. We are meeting our expenses. Running this place keeps us busy and our minds engaged. We continue to use firewood cooking,” she said.
Most of the customers love the place because of the ambiance and the feeling of having home-cooked food.
Location: Hotel Ganesh Prasad(Ajja Ajji mane), Rajgopal Nagar road, Manipal, Karnataka
Viral video
Rakshith captioned the video, “This place turned out to be an emotional experience to me. Homely food at a very reasonable price. More than that the affection you receive from this old couple is incredible. They definitely deserve more love from us. You will feel the warmth of your grandparents. Ajja Ajji mane is something more than just an eatery.”
The video was also shared on Twitter. Netizens praised this elderly couple for serving meals at such reasonable prices.
Tremendous respect for this Ajji & Ajja.
They are working even at this age to earn a living & are not dependant on the state for freebies pic.twitter.com/hRh6VYCWqL— Deepak Prabhu (@ragiing_bull) April 23, 2022
