"Watching parotta being made is meditation for me"

...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

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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.