Village Cooking Channel, a cooking channel that originated from Chinna Veeramangalam, a small village in Tamil Nadu's Pudukkottai district has crossed 1 crore subscribers.
The channel is run by five cousins from the village, V Subramanian, V Murugesan, V Ayyanar, G Tamilselvan and T Muthumanickam and is led by their grandfather, M Periyathambi who used to be a caterer. It has gained international popularity with its simple and easy-to-follow recipes. The main appeal of the channel lies in the authenticity it brings to its recipes, and the way it highlights south Indian recipes in their orignal form.
The team recently received YouTube's Diamond Play Button, and also uploaded a video of its unboxing.
"We have agriculture work for six months and the rest of the time we do not have much to do. That is when we decided to start the channel," said Subramanian.
Posing with the Diamond Play Button
(Photo Courtesy: YouTube Screengrab/Village Cooking Channel)
M Periyathambi, the grandfather who started the channel is seen getting emotional during the video and saying, "I started my cooking journey when I was 25 and now I am 70 and I never imagined that I will make such a name. I am grateful to all the people who have loved our work."
Earlier this year, Rahul Gandhi had also made an appearance on their channel during the elections. The team says that their subscribers increased exponentially after that video.
The cousins earn about Rs 7 lakh per month from their YouTube videos and its advertisement revenues. "We utilise at least one-fourth of the money we make on purchasing ingredients and preparing a feast. We serve the food to our friends, relatives and other people in the village. Amid the lockdown, we began serving food in old-age homes and orphanages," said Subramaniam to The Hindu.
They recently made a donation of Rs 10 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund (CMPRF) to aid the fight against COVID-19 after meeting MK Stalin, the CM of Tamil Nadu.
The team of Village Cooking Channel with Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin.
(Photo Courtesy: YouTube Screengrab/Village Cooking Channel)
(With inputs from The Hindu).
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