This Aluva eatery mourns its dearest star patron

KOCHI: It was a June morning a couple of years ago. Waiter Thampi of Kamath Inn noticed a white Tata Indigo car flashing its headlights, indicating that the passenger wanted to be served in the vehicle itself.
Thampi rushed out. The car's rear window rolled down and a voice so familiar asked: "Do you serve idlies?" That was the first time Sukumari visited Kamath Inn at Paravur Junction in Aluva.It was also her return to films after a short break due to medical reasons.
Since then, the versatile actor had her breakfast from Kamath whenever she visited Kochi. "She would visit the hotel twice a month. After arriving at Nedumbassery airport, she used to come around 7.30-8 in the morning,'' said S Sudhakara Kamath, proprietor of the eatery.
Sukumari normally ate in the car itself. "If the hotel is less crowded, she would come in," Kamath said. And during such visits, the actor became friends with Kamath's mother, who used to sit at the cash counter. "They had so many things in common to share as they belonged to the same generation,'' he said.
Kamath and his family were hoping that Sukumari would recover soon. Around 6.30pm on Tuesday, he received a call from his wife Rekha, who broke the news. "I immediately informed my mother, who is now with my brother in Chennai," he said.
Thampi recalled her last visit to the hotel. "It was in February. She came into the hotel, and talked to all of us."