The Ikkayees hotel at Gujarati Street in Kozhikode is spreading smiles and love as they have opened a tea shop run by three youngsters who have Down's syndrome. Arinshad, Ameen, and Mubasheer, who run this tea shop amazingly, are the students at the Nadakavu 'We Smile' special school.
They efficiently take orders and serve the tea. The tea shop opens at 3.30 pm and closes down by 7 pm. However, before boarding the bus which takes them back home, the trio makes sure that they have correctly managed and settled the day's finances. The tea shop was inaugurated as part of their internship project.
There are many schools and training centres for those who have conditions like Down's syndrome or autism. However, most of us cannot really imagine how a person diagnosed with Down syndrome, leads their life after they turn twenty years old. N Sulaij, one of the owners of the Ikkayees hotel, says that it was this though which inspired him to open a tea shop which would be run by such people.
N Sulaij and Shabeer are the owners of the famed Ikkayees hotel in Kozhikode. There is a heart touching tale of goodness behind the inception of this hotel around three years ago. It was even before the extremely successful 'Compassionate Kozhikode' project was flagged off in the city. A group of students from the JDT and the Farook College, who were service minded and interested in charitable activities, used to assemble at the Institute of Palliative Medicine. Nine among them decided to venture into the food business and founded the Ikkayees. In the initial days, they sold delicious 'food on road' in food trucks which drew foodies from all over. Eventually the food truck turned into a full-fledged hotel where mouth watering food is served with love and care.
