MUMBAI : Bhadu B. Nagarade is ready with hot idlis and dosas in his food cart at 5am, across the road from Kota’s largest coaching centre, Allen Career Institute’s headquarters.
Nagarade, a mechanical engineer, used to run a restaurant in Rawatbhata, Rajasthan, home to several nuclear power plants. With lockdowns and remote work crushing the restaurant industry during the pandemic, the 32-year-old shut his outlet and pondered his next move.
As the pandemic eased, Nagarade headed to the coaching town of Kota, having heard that business there had recovered as students flocked back to physical classes.
The record 200,000-odd students that have returned to India’s coaching capital have come as a shot in the arm for the city’s economy, providing jobs and livelihood to thousands like Nagarade in restaurant, hotel, hostel, travel and retail businesses. “I start selling idli for ₹10 a piece at 5am because that is when the students in the hostels are hungry after studying all night and have to rush for early morning classes.