 The
place brings to mind a scene from R K Narayan's Malgudi Days.
Imagine yourself walking into a restaurant in the town of Malgudi
set in pre-independent India. Watch old timers walking in with
their traditional dhotis and mysore petas (a traditional cap)
asking for a Vimurthi. Vimurthi will be served on a banana
leaf with chow chow as a side dish handed out at the self-service
counter. You can serve yourself water in a brass tumbler and
have a seat besides the grandfather clock. Feels like fiction,
isn't it? Walk down Town Hall towards the famous Dharmaraya
Temple, Old Taluk Office Road.
Walking into Sri RamaVilas Restaurant is like walking
down memory lane. The wooden furnishing has a nostalgic feel.
Around noon people gather outside the restaurant waiting for
it to open for business. Clients are also aware of the timing
of each dish that is served. Kashi Halwa, a delicious
sweet dish, is served with hot mixture only b etween
12 to 2 pm. After 2 pm it's time for the Carrot Halwa, Badam
Halwa, Badampuri and Dumrote- a menu heavy on sweet dishes.
Gundappa Hotel, as it was known earlier, has been specializing
in sweet dishes since it was established in 1933. Started
by H S Gundanna, this restaurant has come through troubled
times during the British rule when food was rationed due to
the Second World War. Gundanna's own story runs like a legend.
He ran away from home and joined a city hotel as a waiter. After
he learnt the tricks of the trade, he set up his own eatout
and decided to make it a different sort of place, one that specialised
in sweets. Though other dishes like Ravaidli, Pakoda, Kharabath,
Puri and Bajji are served, the menu is predominantly very sweet.
 "The
place is immaculately clean and the quality of the food
has always been very good," says one Prashanth who has been
frequenting the place for 30 years. Narisimha Murthy,
the eldest son of Gundappa, supervises the work and checks the
quality of food. He says, "There is nothing special about
the recipe. It is as ordinary as any household cooking and we
don't believe in trade secrets. You want to know about Vimurthi,
isn't it? It's made in the same way as any ordinary Jilebi,
but black gram is used instead."
 He
is unfazed by competition from fast food joints, instant
mixes and glossy packages. "We are in a league of our own.
We don't think of them as competition. They are catering to
a floating population which is in a hurry, while we cater to
loyal patrons who would like to taste something exclusive."
That's why Narayan Rao doesn't bother to open shop on
holidays and the food prepared daily is limited to a certain
quantity.
Earlier people used to come from places as far off as Basavangudi
and Jayanagar, but now the number has declined. Despite this
they refuse to advertise to bring in more business. It is sad
to think that this landmark eatout place in the city
might slowly fade away into the pages of history.
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11:34:49 PM 
