Why did Brahmins stop doing a hotel business in Tamil Nadu?

 Just a few centuries ago, Brahmins would not eat outside in public places. They would consume their meals only in their dedicated Brahmin houses, or in Brahmin chattirams (free inns/feeding houses), or in madams (monasteries/religious centres).

Roughly a hundred years back, Brahmins started running restaurants. In these eateries, there would be separate seating areas reserved exclusively for Brahmins.

A board would clearly specify, "Area for Brahmins to eat." This arrangement was in place during the early days of Brahmin-run restaurants because they adhered to specific rules of ritual purity (parisheshana vidhimurai).

Other communities would often mock or ridicule this by splitting the words (in Tamil, Brahmanargal kall Saappidum Idam - Place where Brahmins eat liquor), and this kind of satirical reference even appeared in a few movies.

This is how Brahmins started eating in public places other than their own homes. The first step towards this was taken by the restaurants run by Brahmins.

As time progressed, other communities also opened restaurants. If they were vegetarian eateries, Brahmins began eating there without any discrimination.

Major restaurants like Salem Vilvadri Bhavan, which were huge successes, and other Brahmin hotels that flourished across many parts of Tamil Nadu, eventually changed hands and were taken over by non-Brahmins.

The primary reasons I see for this shift are:

* The belief that Brahmins should not sell food; it is considered a transgression as per the shastras (scriptures).

* A significant reason why these successful restaurants shut down was the fear of or the actual birth of mentally challenged children in the families running such hotels.

* Several Brahmin families faced such issues and subsequently abandoned the restaurant business altogether.

* A Brahmin who earns money by selling food must engage in charity and donations (daana dharmam) equivalent to their earnings. Families that failed to do this faced problems like the birth of children with developmental issues and inter-caste marriages (kalappu thirumanangal)—seen as misfortunes in this context.

The points I mention above relate to the most successful Brahmin hoteliers and the reasons why they decided to leave the trade.

These are the statements made by people who directly shared their experiences with me, or the views of elderly Brahmin scholars who specifically advised me that Brahmins should not pursue the hotel business.

These are the core reasons why Brahmins quit the restaurant trade. E.V. Ramasamy (EVR) or anyone else from Dravidian movement is not the cause of this.

* Generally, Brahmins should stop eating outside unnecessarily.

* Even today, Brahmin catering services are running successfully. One can order food from them via Swiggy/Zomato or directly locate such eateries and visit them to eat.

* This is not an injunction against visiting A2B (Adyar Ananda Bhavan) from today. However, we can choose to avoid other restaurants and only frequent those run by Brahmins, thereby helping their business progress.

* Furthermore, Brahmin families earning through the food business should perform equivalent charity and donations to create prosperous Brahmin progeny. I share this prayer and my personal view with all of you.