The viral picture shows newly appointed British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak enjoying a masala dosa at Vidyarthi Bhawan in south Bengaluru. During a visit to his wife Akshatha Murthy’s hometown in 2019, he tried the famous dish at the 80-year-old establishment.
Over 120 years ago, another British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, lived in Bengaluru as a young British army officer. He described the city’s climate in his book as excellent and spent his time collecting butterflies and reading books. During his stay, he frequented Moses & Sons, the city’s authentic leather shop.
Churchill’s time in Bengaluru was during a different era when Britain was a powerful empire. He was not known for interacting with the native population and preferred the exclusive Victoria Hotel for breakfast, which was off-limits to natives. Whether he ever tasted masala dosa and filter coffee remains unknown, but he might have faced challenges eating the dosa at a native-run hotel in the old city of Chickpet due to certain customs.
Churchill was a member of the elite Bangalore Club, where no natives were allowed, and he left the club with a debt of Rs 13 upon his return to England, a debt that remains unpaid. It is unclear if Rishi Sunak will settle this bill during his future visits to his in-laws.
The stark contrast between Churchill’s time, depicted through his English tea at Victoria Hotel, and Sunak’s present-day experience enjoying masala dosa at Vidyarthi Bhawan showcases the significant changes that both London and Bengaluru have undergone over the past 120 years.
