Sri Jagannath Textiles has put up a kiosk that serves buttermilk to anyone who wishes to quench their thirst this summer. The kiosk is located on the East Periaswamy Road at R.S. Puram. We are told that serving buttermilk has been the tradition of this company since 2006.

“It all began when the Managing Director of Sri Jagannath Textiles decided to serve water to the public during the summer season. One of the neighbours volunteered to make five litres of buttermilk everyday. She requested him to distribute the buttermilk along with water in the kiosk. This prompted him to prepare and serve buttermilk everyday,” shares an employee who does not wish to be named. Since then the company has been preparing and giving away buttermilk. A few times, the buttermilk was distributed in multiple locations in the city.

We are also told that every day several hundred litres of buttermilk are prepared and distributed. “This is the fifth year that I’m drinking buttermilk from this kiosk. A couple of years ago, they used to serve buttermilk in plastic tumblers. Now, they serve them in steel tumblers. I gulp down two glasses of buttermilk and I take some for the people at my office too,” R Satish Kumar, a sales executive, shares.

Thangvelu C.R., an employee of a medical shop in R.S.Puram, had received special permission from his boss to drink some buttermilk everyday at this kiosk, on condition that he brings some for his coworkers too. He says that it is refreshing to have the buttermilk between breakfast and lunch. “This is time when it is neither too hot nor too cool, and at this time, business is dull in our pharmacy too. So I take a small walk and sip some healthy and refreshing buttermilk everyday,” Thangvelu says.

Everyday, more than a hundred people are served this buttermilk. The employee, who is entrusted with this responsibility of distributing the cool buttermilk, serve it with a lot of warmth. Their buttermilk has many takers. People in cars too do not shy away from making a pitstop at this kiosk to sip some buttermilk.

We tried to contact the Sri Jagannath Textiles office located near the kiosk, but the management was unavailable for comments.