Try GOLD - Free
"Watching parotta being made is meditation for me"
The New Indian Express
|August 16, 2025
...says Ranjith, founder of Tirunelveli Parotta Kadai Chennai's most loved food joint-as he shares how an obsession turned into a bustling brand with four branches and a loyal city-wide following
-
It's a bustling afternoon at one of the Tirunelveli Parotta Kadai outlets. The aroma fills the air, the tawa crackles in the background, and the sound of parottas being flipped blends with the constant ring of order calls. Amid the chaos, the founder, Gnanadesigan Raman aka Ranjith (38) sits at a small table near the counter greeting regulars, giving quick instructions to his staff, checking a delivery update on his phone all without missing a beat.
He finally settles into the conversation, smiling with the kind of energy that comes from doing what you love. "Meditation isn't always about closing your eyes and sitting still," Ranjith says, glancing toward the open kitchen. "For some, it's a walk at dawn, the sound of rain, a song, or a brush on canvas.
For me, it's watching a parotta being made." He laughs lightly expecting disbelief. "Yes, really. That layered, flaky South Indian marvel. The thud of dough on steel, the sizzle when it hits the tawa, the hot salna soaking into every fold I can watch it for hours. Every time I see it, something inside me quiets down. That routine, that rhythm, it gives me focus, clarity, peace. It started as an obsession. Today, it's a name known across the city.
Tirunelveli Parotta Kadai, with four branches, packed tables, and a growing, loyal following," the Tirunelveli native shares.
Ranjith's journey doesn't begin in a kitchen.
He started his career in a KPO at TCS. But the routines of corporate life left him unsatisfied.
Outside of work, he found himself increasingly captivated by parotta-making, studying the masters, their movements, the aroma, the craft. Slowly, a dream began to form, not to rise in the IT ranks, but to open a food business of his own.
"In 2020, I finally acted on my dream.
This story is from the August 16, 2025 edition of The New Indian Express.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The New Indian Express
The New Indian Express Chennai
BIG TECH RUSH TO BUILD CLOUD, AI INFRA IN INDIA
HERE is a sudden downpour of Big Tech investments in India.
3 mins
December 14, 2025
The New Indian Express Chennai
Israel claims killing of top Hamas commander in Gaza
ISRAEL on Saturday said it killed a top Hamas commander in Gaza after an explosive device detonated and wounded two soldiers in the territory’s south.
1 min
December 14, 2025
The New Indian Express Chennai
Court says heirs of temporary staff not eligible for compassionate jobs
THE Madras High Court has set aside an order of the central administrative tribunal (CAT) which had ordered the Southern Railway to pass appropriate orders on the application of the legal heir of a deceased temporary worker for a job under compassionate grounds.
1 mins
December 14, 2025
The New Indian Express Chennai
'Paradigm shift in city's water reservoir ops'
THE WRD communication marked this as a \"paradigm shift\" balancing the water security protocol and the flood regulation protocol, and marked a \"significant milestone\" in Chennai's water supply history.
1 min
December 14, 2025
The New Indian Express Chennai
Hand-written undertaking gets man bail in tobacco case
THE Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently granted bail to a man arrested in Tenkasi for allegedly selling banned tobacco products, after getting a handwritten undertaking from him and his wife that they would not sell banned tobacco products and would make a nonrefundable deposit of ₹3,000 to a government school in Theni.
1 min
December 14, 2025
The New Indian Express Chennai
Ropeway routes at pilgrim sites fast-tracked
UTTARAKHAND is set to dramatically transform its pilgrimage and tourism landscape with a massive push for ropeway infrastructure.
1 min
December 14, 2025
The New Indian Express Chennai
The United Colours of Nubia
Set along the River Nile, this village in Egypt's Aswan is a striking blend of colour, age-old practices, and crocodile symbolism
2 mins
December 14, 2025
The New Indian Express Chennai
Fake drugs: Agra cops in Pondy to nab trio
THE fake medicine racket unearthed in Puducherry has taken a nationwide dimension, with the Agra police setting up a camp in the Union Territory to take action against those involved in the manufacture and sale of counterfeit medicines through a known pharmacy company headquartered in Delhi.
1 min
December 14, 2025
The New Indian Express Chennai
ISIS AMBUSH KILLS 2 US TROOPS, INTERPRETER IN CENTRAL SYRIA
TWO American troops and an interpreter were killed in central Syria on Saturday after an alleged member of the Islamic State group opened fire on a joint US-Syrian patrol, officials said.
1 min
December 14, 2025
The New Indian Express Chennai
Pressure mounts on opener Gill
The vice-captain, yet to score a fifty in the shortest format this year, is searching for form
2 mins
December 14, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size
