An MBA Grad Turned His Dad’s Dosa Cart Into Hyderabad’s Most Iconic ‘Bandi’
Ask any Hyderabadi where you can eat the best dosa or idli in the city, and they will point you to Ram Ki Bandi. Well-known for buttery dosas and soft idlis, this pushcart (bandi) was started in 1989 by a humble man named Lakshman Rao Shinde.
“My father bought the cart using most of his savings, as a means of earning a livelihood for our family. We made our ends meet with whatever he earned. This included the fees for my education,” recalls Lakshman’s son Ram Kumar Shinde (35), who has now taken over his father’s business.
The recipe of success
Despite being in a state of financial crisis, Lakshman Rao worked hard to save money and educate his son. Initially, he started by preparing plain dosas and idli, and served them with sambar and chutney. While the family’s income was less, it was enough to get them to the next day.
Lakshman did not have any helpers except his eight-year-old son, Ram.
“I would help out at the bandi every day. My father would park it at different locations to attract different crowds. We would start our day at 5 am, and I would help around until 8 am. I would wash vessels, cut vegetables, help in the cooking process, and serve customers. Then, I would leave for school,” says Ram.
After graduating from school, Ram went on to pursue his higher education and completed his Master’s in Business Administration from a university in Hyderabad.
“In 2010, I used to visit fancy tech parks to attend interviews at various companies, but would never accept their offers because the salary was mediocre. Deep down, I had a voice telling me that my future would not be stable with the money they would pay me. So I decided to join my father’s business,” says Ram.
Image Credit: Humans of Hyderabad.
‘A unique experience’
Ram took over in 2011, and began following the same routine as his father. But soon, he noticed that their income remained unchanged as well. They were up against bigger outlets in the business, and most of their customers were those in a hurry to grab a quick meal.
“We did not have enough money to start a big restaurant. On most days, I was spending more for the stall than I could earn from it. So I decided to add variety to our menu, and introduced the same dishes with a twist. So we had schezwan dosas, tawa idlis, cheese dosas, pizza dosas and more,” says Ram, adding that word about these dosas spread fast around the city, and hungry customers began pouring in.
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