The canteen was founded in 1921 by Aditya Chandra Dey, Madhuda's father, who received permission from the university authorities to open a food business on the university grounds when Dhaka University was established.

At that time, the present-day Medical College was part of the Dhaka University campus. When the police barracks near Palashi were vacated, Aditya purchased two thatched houses from the British police for Tk 20-30.

One house was used as a shop, while the other served as his residence.

In 1934-35, when Madhuda was around 14-15 years old, he began helping his father in the canteen.

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The canteen later moved to its current location after the arts faculty was shifted to its present location near the Nilkhet area.

Photo: wikipedia

The canteen's location used to serve as the Durbar Hall of the Dhaka Nawabs. In addition to being used for formal and informal meetings, the hall was a skating rink and ballroom for the Nawabs' enjoyment.

Construction of the building began in 1873 and continued over several years. In 1906, a conference sponsored by Nawab Bahadur Sir Khwaja Salimullah of Dhaka was held in the building, which led to the formation of the All-India Muslim League.

After the death of Madhusudan, his son Arun Kumar Dey took over the responsibility of running the canteen.