Corn-roast, which is a very popular seasonal delight in many parts of the world, is attracting people these days in the city of Mangalore. Vendors selling roasted corn can be spotted at various places in the city along the roadside, roasting and grilling the undressed corns, giving the rain drenched Mangalore a hot n healthy snack.
The delicacy has become popular among young and old alike. This food item is attracting locals as well as travellers and foreigners, For many college going students, the rainy season has become all the more sweet and pleasing as they munch the grilled corns by the side of the roads.
Interestingly, like many other roadside vendors in Mangalore, most of the roast corn vendors are non-Mangaloreans. It is their poverty, which drives them to Mangalore from other parts of the state.
This group with a dozen vendors from Shimoga for instance, has almost become a part of Mangalore after the first spill of rain. They are here for a sojourn in the coastal city in order to make some money. Four among them (Sadiq, Munna, Shah Rukh and Chotu) are students who have recently passed their SSLC and PUC examinations, in their village on the outskirts of Shimoga. Their intention is to secure some money for their further studies. Javeed, Allah-Bakhsh, Muneer and Motu are farmers, who have lost thousands of rupees in their farmland last year. Two among the group are graduates (!), who could not find a suitable job after completion of their BA and BCom courses. Another one is a small business man who runs a petty grocery store in a small village. And twelfth one is an old man, whose only daughter recently got married to a farmer.
Despite, their different and strange background, all of them share a common thing, i.e. poverty, which compelled them to join their hands together to earn some money for their living.
However none of them are professional corn roast vendors. They intend to live in Mangalore only for a period of two months. “We came here for wending corn roast, which is one of the favourite chats of Mangaloreans during the rainy season. But, we cannot stay here for long as after a month or two our business will be nil. Mangaloreans love corn roast only during rainy season,” says Motu, adding that they have to look for something else during other seasons.
“We sell corn roast at the rate of Rs.10 per piece. It is very cheap compared to other chats and time pass food stuffs. More over this is very good for health”, says Allah Bakhsh.
“This job is not easy. We have to purchase fresh corns from others. At present, a group from Bellary is supplying corns to us. Our style of roasting them is different. To add extra taste we sprinkle some salt, mirchi and lemon juice on it and people like our corn roasts!” he says, with a fair sense of self appreciation.
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