Karnataka

Play on Bengaluru's iconic Vidyarthi Bhavan to be held in Malleshwaram

Written by : TNM Staff

A play on Bengaluru's iconic eatery, the famous Vidyarthi Bhavan, will be staged at Chowdiah Memorial Hall in Malleswaram. The announcement came amid expectations by many that Vidyarthi Bhavan may soon have a second branch in the city for the first time in its 79-year history. Managing Partner Arun Adiga even told The New Indian Express earlier that the new branch is expected to open by the first week of May. It later turned out that it was simply a move to draw people to the play. Speaking to The Hindu later, Adiga said, “The post piqued interest among many people across the city. We wanted to sustain the interest and then announce the play. However, the speculation went beyond our control.”

The sheer number of people that visit the eatery in Gandhi Bazaar is testament to how embedded it is in Bengaluru’s culinary and cultural history. It is estimated that the restaurant serves over 1,200 of its famous masala dosas every day on weekdays, and on weekends, the number has been known to cross 2,000. The eatery — known for its mouth-watering and crisp dosas, poori-saagu, strong filter coffee and much more — was started in 1943 in Bengaluru’s Basavanagudi. 

While many Bengalureans had earlier welcomed Vidyarthi Bhavan's then speculated move to open a new branch of this city staple, social media users wondered whether this was done to compete with eateries like CTR and Veena Stores in Malleswaram, which are icons in their own right. One user wrote: “VB coming to Malleshwaram. No longer is this going to be a north vs south Bangalore discussion. The  REAL CTR vs VB debate can ensue (sic).” 

Vidyarthi Bhavan was founded in 1943 by Venkataramana Ural and taken over by his brother Parameshwara Ural, before being sold to Ramakrishna Adiga in 1970, who is its current owner. 

Editor's note: The earlier piece had suggested that the restaurant was opening its second branch in Malleshwaram. The error has been corrected. 

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