IF you have the right attitude and are willing to work hard, even selling putumayam can make you wealthy.
Hands on: Thanayenthiran demonstrating how a machine is used to squeeze out the flour that is shaped into a putumayam.
This was what Thanayenthiran Velloo learnt as his life turned from one of rags to riches within five years. No one would have thought that the 41-year-old man who left school when he was in Form Three would become one of Klang’s biggest putumayam distributors one day.
Thanayenthiran, who is of Indian-Chinese parentage, says that after failing his SRP examination he left his hometown in Ipoh to start a new life in Kuala Lumpur.
“I was all alone in Kuala Lumpur and life was hard as I had to do many different odd jobs to survive,” says the youngest of five siblings.
Among the jobs he has done include being an electrician, plumber and a newspaper vendor. But all these jobs did not rake in much income.
“I was a newspaper vendor for 18 years but it did not get me anywhere. Then five years ago I decided to start a putumayam business.
“I did not have a single sen in my pocket then but it was a risk I had to take,” says the father of three.
“I bought over the business from a gentleman for RM50,000. Luck must have been on my side as the man did not ask me to pay him upfront. After a year, I contacted him and paid him half of what I owed him. The following year I settled the balance,” he says.
It has been five years since Thanayenthiran started his business and today, he has earned enough money to buy himself two houses and a van to continue his business as a newspaper vendor.
Easy does it: A worker at Thanayenthiran’s shop collecting the cooked string hoppers for packing.
He operates his putumayam business from a shop called Kedai Putumayam Sentosa in Taman Sentosa, Klang.
“I receive a minimum order of 1,700 pieces of putumayam a day. On weekends, the demand can hit 2,000 pieces,” he says.
His shop specialises in white putumayam, pandan putumayam and raagi putumayam which he claims is popular among the older generation.
“Raagi is richer in protein, calcium and antioxidants, and contains high levels of dietary fibre as compared to rice flour. It is known to help control blood glucose levels in diabetics,” he explains.
Besides putumayam, he also takes orders for curry puffs, vadai and mothagam (dumpling with green pea filling) which is prepared by his wife at their home in Shah Alam.
His clients are mainly vendors and restaurants from Puchong, Shah Alam and Klang.
Thanayenthiran has already started receiving orders for Deepavali but expects most of the orders to come one week before Deepavali.
Deepavali has been a quiet occasion for him and his family.
“We have not celebrated Deepavali since I started this business,” he says.
While fellow Hindus are celebrating the festivities, Thanayenthiran and his wife would be slogging to meet the orders.
“We would start making the putumayam two days before Deepavali and work for 48 hours straight without rest. I would also have an additional eight workers aside from the existing two to help me out.
“On the day of Deepavali, I would be so exhausted that I would sleep the whole day.”
He says his children would normally spend their holidays at his mother’s house in Ipoh as he would never deprive them of their fun.
Thanayenthiran can be contacted at 019-393 8782.
Popular Indian Dish
Putumayam, also known as Idiappam or string hoppers, is a sweet Indian dish made of rice flour. It is eaten with grated coconut and palm sugar or any curries. It is can served at all meals but is especially popular at breakfast and tea-time, and at open houses during Deepavali.
The process of making putumayam consists of sieving rice flour, mixing it with water, sieving it again, steaming the flour and pressing the dough through a mould with tiny holes. The mould is moved in a circular motion to make nice round putumayam which is then steamed. The putumayam is left to cool before being packed.
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