A bakery started by Bhargavi, an entrepreneur whose never-say-die spirit is celebrated in a recent film, has just completed 25 years.
Bun World, an Iyengar-style bakery, is located on Malleswaram 8th Main, 18th Cross. The place was brimming with regulars who trooped in with their friends and family to mark the milestone.
The story of Bhargavi and her husband Capt G R Gopinath is told in the Tamil film ‘Soorarai Pottru’, dubbed into Kannada as ‘Shoorara-kondadu.’
Bhargavi got her first glimpse of what goes on in a bakery when she visited her ancestral home as a four-year-old. “My uncle Rangaraju ran a small bakery. He had a small firewood oven and would knead the dough for buns by hand. I used to admire his dedication and hard work,” Bhargavi told Metrolife. This got her curious about the food business.
In 1993, after she and Gopinath moved from Javagal in Hassan district to Bengaluru with their children, Bhargavi gave serious thought to starting a food business.
The financial burden of moving to a new city, paying the rents and school fees and running a household was too much, she recalls.
Gopinath is told in the Tamil film ‘Soorarai Pottru’.
“I was good at making idli and dosa. I had also mastered some of the other south Indian dishes. I first wanted to start a small restaurant. It was at this time that Srinivas, owner of V B Bakery, whose family Capt Gopinath’s sister is married into, pitched in to help,” she says. She apprenticed at V B Bakery to learn the ropes. “It was a new line, but I grabbed the opportunity,” recalls Bhargavi.
While she was assisting at V B Bakery and its sister concern Butter Sponge in Basavanagudi, Bhargavi completed a six-month course in baking from University of Agricultural Sciences in Hebbal which also had a bakery training unit.
“After that I got a trade licence and completed all the other formalities. I started in a small space in Malleswaram,”she says. Bun World is known for biscuits, bread, buns, puffs and the other delicacies popularised by Iyengar bakeries in Bengaluru.
“We have added a sandwich counter that serves 10 to 12 varieties with paneer, vegetables, mushroom, egg and mayonnaise and tomato,” she says. She prefers to use fruits instead of artificial essence. “Even the butterscotch syrup is from the recipe I make at home. Some biscuits have fresh butter used in them. This lends a home-made taste,” explains Bhargavi.
Customers go back, she believes, because she is always available to customers and is open to criticism. “I take customer feedback seriously and work on improving a product if necessary,” she says. The prices are competitive. You can get a meal between Rs 50 and Rs 70.
This pocket-friendly budget is popular with the students and working class. Bun World has two other branches inside the IISc campus and next to Ramaiah Hospital on Mathikere Main Road. “From having zero savings, I soon grew into making enough to pay rents, taxes and make a little extra money to meet my personal and family expenses,” Bhargavi says. Her mother Sathyavati was smart at managing finances in her younger days. When there was a financial crunch, she would tell her eight children about it and never make false promises. “These values helped me get through tough times,” she says.
Bun World can be contacted on 080 23462288 and 080 23314456.