Ram Kumar Shinde is a young MBA graduate, utterly modest and resides in the most ordinary of circumstances. But this man is anything but ordinary. His story is that of any entrepreneur gone from rags to riches.
Image courtesy: www.ap2tg.com
The Ram Ki Bandi roadside stall was set up in Nampally, Hyderabad, in1989 . Since an early age Shinde followed his father, taking the Bandi around the city and learning the tact of the trade. Seven years ago his father passed the Bandi to him. But things were obviously not going to be easy.
Initially, Ram struggled with the Bandi. There were few interested customers and business was dying. He even thought of giving it up and doing something with his MBA degree, but something forced him to stick on.
Image courtesy: Sankalp Vishnu
Ram himself says that he never for once thought until then, as to why people should come to him when there were thousands around Hyderabad making dosas. Why should his place be chosen over theirs?
This thought led to innovation of the most delicious kind. Ram began to add the secret ingredients in the right concoctions: butter, paneer, cheese and much more and his dosas conquered the taste palate of the locals despite the Bandi being open only from 3am to 8am in the morning!
This is not all, Ram recently opened the ‘Ram’s Dosa House’ in Jubilee Hills, which is doing really well for him, and the locals, including the Telugu film industry, have found their favorite dosa place.
Ram also proudly proclaims to be the first one who started making the ‘pizza dosa’ after which a lot of his street competitors and other hotels began to ape his style. Today, his hotel makes innumerable varieties of delicious dosas in mind-numbing combinations. But of course, the older customers have their favorites they always return for.
Image courtesy: foodgram.weebly.com
However, Ram has not left the Bandi behind. He leaves the running of the hotel to his family in the morning while he runs the bandi himself and takes over the working of the hotel in the night. Both Ram Ki Bandi and Ram’s Dosa House are doing extremely well.
“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up,” Babe Ruth once said.
Ram, despite all the hiccups he faced, stands proud today as his restaurant finds a place on ‘Google Search’ and a 4.2/5 rating with Zomato.
These are no puny honors, don’t you think?
Pointer: Make sure you try the cheese dosa at the house. It’s supposed to be the best thing on the menu!
