Free CHAI for farmers and auto drivers who visit before 8 am

By B.C. Thimmaiah

If the tea stall in Gujarat’s  Vadnagar where Prime Minister Narendra Modi once sold tea during his childhood has been converted into a tourist spot, here in Mysuru we have a tea stall that is dedicated to Modi and just by seeing the “Modi Tea Stall” board placed prominently outside the shop, people come here to have a sip of piping hot tea sometimes accompanied by buns and biscuits.

The stall is located on the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway near Siddalingapura. One cannot miss this tea shop on the road as it has bright coloured boards with PM Modi’s photographs and bold writing. One plain look at the outlet may seem like a BJP pit stop. A closer look reveals that it is a tea stall.

As one enters the stall, bright boards greet the visitor with slogans like My PM, My Pride; Swadeshi Balasi, Desha Ulisi… Beside the stall there are small tables and seats made up of coconut tree stumps painted green and white. There is a dedicated place for customers to dump tea cups instead of indiscriminately throwing them. This is in-line with the Swachh Bharat theme, Modi’s pet project.

The stall is owned by M. Shankaralingegowda alias Shivu who comes from a farming community. He is a Gram Panchayat member and interestingly, he is not from BJP but a hard-core Modi fan. Rain or shine, Shivu opens the stall at 5 am and has been doing this since the last nine years. Inspired by the work done by Narendra Modi, he named his humble outlet after Modi four years back.

He gives free tea to farmers and auto drivers who come to his shop by 8 am and this has helped him earn the love and respect from villagers. “PM Modi’s journey from a humble Chaiwala to one of the most powerful world leaders is definitely an inspiration. I value his selfless sacrifice and unlike other party leaders, he is neither from a dynasty nor is he amassing wealth for future generations of his family,” Shivu claims.

So why a tea shop? Shivu says that he has passed his SSLC and was yet to complete his PUC. “I wanted to be independent since the beginning and I set up this tea stall. The land behind the shop is owned by my family and I manage to save Rs.1,000 every day after deducting all my expenses and shop expenditure,” he says.

Insist on his political affiliations, Shivu says, during the last Assembly elections, he worked for Siddharamaiah, though he lost to G.T. Devegowda in Chamundeshwari Constituency. “Many people come to my stall seeing the board and many vehicles take a U-Turn and come to my shop to have tea,” he says with a smile.

Shivu has his future set. As his family owns land behind the shop, he says after the ongoing expansion of the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway, he will set up a canteen for poor. “It will be on the lines of Indira Canteens where cheap and good food is offered. But it will be my own, without any government support,” he says.

After all, Modi is not working for the welfare of his family but he is working for the country without any selfish motives, Shivu adds.