Kerala chaiwala renowned for world tour with wife dead

Kochi: A humble tea-shop owner here, famed for touring the world along with his wife, is no more. He was 71.

Vijayan passed away here on Friday morning after he suffered a cardiac arrest.

Vijayan and his wife Mohana ran the Sri Balaji Coffee house at Kochi’s Gandhinagar area.

The old couple used to travel around the world with income from the conventional tea shop. They became popular a few years ago as their attempts at fulfilling dreams despite coming from a humble background came into the limelight.

Also known as Kerala's 'travelling couple', Vijayan and Mohana had taken the internet by storm a few times owing to their passion and also due to the visit of celebrities and renowned overseas vloggers to their shop.

In 16 years the couple had visited 26 countries. Their first foreign trip was to Egypt in 2007. They had also visited the Himalayas in 1988. Their last trip was to Russia in October this year. They were planning to visit Japan next.

The couple had visited Moscow, St Petersberg, Russian Parliament, Red Square and the Kremlin during their last trip.

Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas had visited the duo earlier this year upon hearing about their Russian trip.

Vijayan and Mohana had been married for 46 years. Both were bitten by the travel bug quite early in their lives and they realised their dream of travelling across the world with great zeal despite advancing age and meagre income.

The couple used to do all the work at the tea stall all alone. The shop serves tea and snacks. He was selling tea for Rs 5 and has been running the stall for over 40 years.

The duo often set apart Rs 300 daily to meet the future travelling expenses. Sometimes they availed loans, and after returning from a tour, they repaid the loan by working hard at the tea stall.

Vijayan is survived by wife Mohana, two daughters and son-in-laws.