A while back, when I visited Coimbatore, I met my friend Anubhav Sapra from Delhi Food Walks. Anubhav is the person you’ve probably been watching on YouTube for the past eight years—roaming the country’s streets, capturing every corner’s street food, dhabas, and local flavors on camera. He’s like Vinod Dua, but for food—someone who “eats for the nation.”
I already knew his full journey from student leader to YouTuber. In Coimbatore, he had come as a seeker—for spiritual sadhana at Isha in Tamil Nadu, traveling from Delhi. In the middle of our conversation, he said with infectious enthusiasm, “Brother, if you’ve come to Coimbatore, don’t leave without eating the dosa at Annapoorna. If you miss that dosa, your trip will be considered incomplete.” His excitement was so contagious that I made up my mind right then: on the day of departure, we’d definitely stop at Annapoorna on the way to the airport. After all, who wants to return with an unfinished journey?
On the final day, we planned it perfectly—leave for the airport four hours early so we could savor Annapoorna’s famous ghee-laden dosa, its signature sambar, and a perfect filter coffee. But fate had other plans. As soon as we arrived, we saw all the outlets closed. We learned that the restaurant chain’s Vice Chairman had passed away, so the entire group was shut down for the day. My heart sank. That anticipation, that hunger—everything went cold in an instant.
Still, I refused to give up. We had already decided to visit the Perur Pateeswarar Temple. But a Banaras-based influencer friend pressured us to head straight to the airport—his flight was earlier, so he dragged me along from the Velliangiri Foothills. The Perur temple passed right by on the way, but we kept going. A short distance later, my friend got a message: his Indigo flight was canceled! Now what? Going back to the temple didn’t seem practical anymore.
We decided to make the most of the remaining time and find a nearby temple. Checking the location, we spotted a Ganpati temple close by. When we reached, renovation work was underway—dust, scattered materials, everything in disarray.
That day, it felt like Coimbatore itself was whispering, “Not yet… stay a little longer.” The crispy dosa from Annapoorna, the ancient Shivling at Perur, the blessings at Ganpati—all postponed for next time.
Now I have plenty of reasons to return to Coimbatore soon. Anubhav’s words still echo in my ears. Next time I go, I’ll head first to Perur Pateeswarar Temple, then straight to Annapoorna—to complete that unfinished journey. And maybe that dosa will taste even better after such a long wait.
Sometimes, the journeys left incomplete become the most memorable ones. Do you have any such experience—where something special slipped away, but it only made you more determined to go back?
