Karnataka`s coffee entrepreneur
A custom in the culture of Karnataka State, is drinking hot filter kaapi first thing in the morning. Bengaluru, the state’s capital, epitomises this coffee culture. However, coffee is also the link that connects it to one of its most trailblazing entrepreneurs, an extraordinary woman.
Sakamma Coffee Works played a significant role in supplying authentic cured and powdered coffee to the people of the royal State of Mysore at the start of the 1900s, despite the company’s name not being often mentioned in the chronicles of Indian entrepreneurs.
Doddamane Sakamma (1880 – 1950) was born in a middle-class family village Bidare, in Tumkur District. Despite financial hardships, her parents ensured she received schooling, a rarity for girls then. She was among the very few girls of her generation to pass the secondary school examination in Mysore Province.
Moving to then Bangalore in search of a better livelihood, the family however fell on hard times and Sakamma was forced by circumstances to marry at 16, Savkar D.C. Setty, an affluent Coorgi coffee planter who already had two wives. Even as she was opening her eyes to the realities of the society around her, she lost her husband within two years of her marriage. His other two wives followed in quick succession.
The young girl, in a twist of fate, was landed the difficult responsibility of running her late husband enormous coffee estate all by herself. Her education however helped her face the calamities that befell upon her. She waded through life`s worst points, picked up the skills to manage a coffee estate quickly, and the plantation began to prosper again.
Fuelled by determination and a pioneering spirit, in 1920, Sakamma made the bold decision to relocate from Coorg to Bangalore, the bustling epicenter of commerce and opportunity. She opened a tiny coffee powdering and curing shop at Basavanagudi, setting the groundwork for her business venture. Her Coffee Pudi quickly became an essential fixture in Bangaloreans` daily lives.
Coffee was never the same again! Her name spread by word of mouth and a pioneer of entrepreneurship was born. Her first coffee unit became a household name and her name was etched in history. Buoyed by the thundering response, the young entrepreneur set up centres in different areas across the Bangalore, earning herself the popular nickname Coffee Pudi (Coffee Powder) Sakamma. Her thriving business significantly impacted Bangalore’s community and she dedicated herself to various social causes, leaving an indelible impact on her community.
She gained recognition and affection for her achievements that went beyond the corporate world, such as her support of social justice and educational programmes. The Mysore government called her as a corporate leader to help plan the industrial growth of the State. She established the Kuruhina Shetty Kendra Sangha and Hostel in Basavanagudi and made large donations.
In recognition of her exceptional contribution to the State’s trade and social welfare, she was honoured with the title of Lokaseva Pararyane (one devoted to service of society) by the Maharaja of Mysore, Sri Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV. Even the British in awe of her achievements awarded her the Kaisar-i- Hind (Jewel of India) medal. She became one of the first women to be nominated to the erstwhile Mysore Representative Assembly in 1928.The Indian Post released a special envelope honouring her. She received numerous honours and recognitions for her incredible accomplishments.
Among the first few devotees of Sathya Sai Baba, who spent many months in her house, Sakamma spoke Telugu fluently and treated Baba as her child and cooked food for him. Her pioneering spirit paved the way for future generations of women entrepreneurs, to pursue their dreams against all odds. Sadly, stories of women like her often remain overshadowed by those of their male counterparts. She died aged 75.
A.Radhakrishnan is a Pune based freelance journalist, poet and short story writer.