Mornings in Karnataka often start with a cup of hot filter ‘kaapi’, a tradition deeply ingrained in the state’s culture. Karnataka not only produces over 70% of India’s coffee but also boasts the highest per capita coffee consumption in the country, with more than one cup per month per person, according to NSSO data.
Bengaluru, the state’s capital, epitomizes this coffee culture. From the iconic Indian Coffee House to modern roasteries, the city has always been enamored with coffee. Yet, few are aware that coffee also links Bengaluru to one of its most remarkable entrepreneurs, D. Sakamma.
Born in 1880 in Bidare, a village in Karnataka’s Tumkur district, Sakamma moved to Bangalore (now Bengaluru) with her parents as a child in search of better opportunities. She was bright and curious, and her parents supported her education, a rarity for girls at the time. Sakamma excelled academically, becoming one of the few girls to pass the secondary school examination in Mysore Province.
However, her middle-class family faced financial hardships, leading Sakamma to marry at 16. Her husband, Savkar Doddamane Chikkabasappa Setty, was a wealthy coffee planter from Coorg with two wives already. Tragedy struck quickly; within two years of marriage, Sakamma’s husband and his other wives passed away, leaving her to manage a vast coffee estate alone.
Undeterred, Sakamma used her education to master estate management, transforming it into a thriving enterprise. By 1920, she relocated to Bangalore to expand her coffee business, setting up a coffee curing and powdering unit near Bull Temple Road in Basavanagudi.
Her venture, Sakamma Coffee Works, quickly gained popularity, earning her the nickname “Coffee Pudi Sakamma.” The coffee mix became a household staple in Bangalore, even mentioned by literary figures like Masti Venkatesha Iyengar and DV Gundappa.
With her business flourishing, Sakamma turned to social causes, significantly impacting Bangalore’s community. She was among the business leaders invited by the Mysore government to assist in planning the state’s industrial development. She generously invested in founding the Kuruhina Shetty Kendra Sangha and Hostel in Basavanagudi.
Sakamma also established Sakamma Bhavan, a choultry (inn) for travelers near the hostel, where her portrait still hangs. The area where she ran her coffee unit remains known as Sakamma Garden.
Breaking further barriers, Sakamma, along with Kamalamma Dasappa of the Mahila Seva Samaja, became one of the first women nominated to the Mysore Representative Assembly in 1928. Kamalamma was notable for being the third woman to graduate from Mysore and the grandmother of Rajeshwari Chatterjee, Karnataka’s first woman engineer.
Sakamma’s pioneering spirit continued until her death in 1950 at the age of 75. Despite her significant contributions, the stories of women like Sakamma often remain overshadowed by those of their male counterparts. It’s time to bring these narratives into the spotlight.
