Set up in early 2005, Ashwini Mess began as a stall that served food on the streets. Now it is a tiny eatery, which Vijaykumar is running for 15 years on Markham Road and for him, it was a dream come true. “I’ve done all kinds of jobs, just to make ends meet. I worked at a Delhi-based cable company in Bengaluru first, then I worked cash-and-carry for the Metro when they started in the early 2000s, but I always believed that setting up my own business would be the day I could say I’ve accomplished something. I realized that dream just as I turned forty,” Vijayakumar recalls. He is proud to begin a business for himself, no matter how small it was in the beginning.
You will recognise Vijaykumar from one of these three places – the East Upper stand at the Kanteerava, tailoring ‘Hogappa Innond Togondba’ for Bengaluru FC’s season campaign in 2017, and most recently alongside Blues’ skipper Sunil Chhetri for the launch of 2020-21 ‘Back On Our Feet’ campaign.
He aced his role with the skipper in our campaign video, and we're bringing it to life at Ashwini Mess, where Vijayakumar mixes batter and love to serve some of the best idlis in town. If you're near the BFS in the morning, here's where you must break your fast! #BackOnOurFeet pic.twitter.com/WT9BMEPM12
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) August 20, 2020
Vijaykumar’s relationship with club stretches all the way back to 2013 when the club had announced a stone’s throw away from his little shop, Vijayakumar says the last few years have strengthened what was an already solid bond. “I’m 56 now, and in my time I’ve watched ITI, HAL, KGF and many of the big clubs that have come and gone. I’ve been watching football all my life, but never once did I believe I’d get so close to a club or its staff and players,” he says.
Vijaykumar says he never imagined that something like the COVID 19 pandemic would come along and turn everything upside down. The last five months haven’t been kind of him because of the pandemic. This reminds him of a match hew watched at BFS many years back. “It was ITI and East Bengal, one of Indian football’s big rivalries at that point. It went on for three days! I cannot remember which year it was, but I can tell you it was in the 80s. There was crowd trouble on the first day, and the game was called off. The police intervened on the second day and it was called off once again. I went back for the third day too, and Mahendra Prasad scored the winner on the final day,” he said.
All your questions about Ashwini Mess have been answered right here! While Vijayakumar and his wife are an army of only two and cannot deliver, you can get his food brought to you through a third party service. Call Vijayakumar on 9739756701 for his full menu! #BackOnOurFeet pic.twitter.com/IZ5o80VJzN
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) August 20, 2020
The last five months feels like the first two days of the game. ” Igo back to the shop, but it’s the same story. I’m doing everything I can, but nothing seems to change. I’ve always known there will be rainy days, and I’ve braced for those too. But this is a storm that gave no warning.”
Finishing up with the interview with Bengaluru FC, he says the Blues and some of their tough moments have inspired him. “If you ask around, you’ll find that many people go back to remember the big wins and the trophy lifts. But my favourite moments are the ones that have seen BFC pushed back; by a goal, by a bad decision, by a result. It’s in those moments that the team, the fans and the club shows character. That’s the thing about Bengaluru FC that inspires me the most, and that’s what we need more than anything in these times; character.”
