Virudhunagar ‘Burma Kadai’ founder no more

A.K. Velsamy, founder of Burma Kadai Catering Services, a famous non-vegetarian restaurant, died due to COVID-19 at a private hospital in Madurai on Sunday night. He was 74. Mr. Velsamy had been admitted to the hospital on July 15.

A repatriate from Burma, Mr. Velsamy had come to Tamil Nadu at the age of 12. “Initially, he worked as a loadman and then s the driver of a cargo van in Chennai. He came to Virudhunagar in 1967 and set up a petty shop with State government assistance,” his son, A.K.V. Vetrivel (45) said.

Later, Mr Velsamy got into the catering industry with a small eatery, Burma Kadai, under the road overbridge in Muthuramanpatti in the town. Burma Kadai which started offering vegetarian dishes, ventured into non-vegetarian catering on Municipal Office Road, and soon became a hit among foodies.

“People who come to Virudhunagar town for any business would not miss the fried parottas of Burma Kadai,” said Mahendran, a local resident. His restaurant with modern look on Madurai Road, would attract lot of long-distance travellers on the Madurai-Tirunelveli highway. One more restaurant was recently opened in Kalligudi.

Mr. Velsamy is survived by his wife, Vijayagowri, five sons and two daughters.