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Ram Mandir: Ayodhya halwais make 3,000 kg laddoos, other special sweets
Sweet shop owners in the sacred city are set to meet the soaring demand as Ram Mandir opens to public tomorrow
All eyes are on Ayodhya today as the city gets ready for the much-awaited consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir. With politicos, industrialists and celebs in the city today, Ayodhya’s halwais have also swung into the fervour by preparing traditional mithais that will be offered as bhog.
At Raskunj Sweets, located just half a km away from the Ram Mandir, work has been on brisk mode for a while. Vikas Gupta, owner of the shop, says, “The last few days have been so busy. The phone has been ringing constantly, with people from around India placing orders for Raj bhog. We have already received an order of 3,000 pieces and going by the ongoing demand we will have to make a lot more.”
There is a ban on movement to outsiders due to the VVIP movement in Ayodhya, but tomorrow onwards, when the entry to the temple becomes open to public, mithai demand is expected to skyrocket. He affirms, “We expect the orders to rise in a big way after today, when people will be allowed to enter the Ram Mandir. We’re preparing ourselves for that, as everyone will want to visit the temple.”
Khurchan pedas are the specialty
It’s a similar scenario at the 200-year-old Maruti Nandan Mishthan Bhandar in Tulsi Nagar, where the workers have been working round-the-clock to meet the demand. Says Gopal Gupta, owner, “Bhagwan ko bhog lagane ke liye we are making 1,100 kilos of besan laddoos. The preparation has been underway for a while and our kaarigars have been working night and day to meet the demand. We won’t have entry to the temple yet, but we plan to do the puja archana at the temple aur Hanuman ji ko voh laddoo samarpit kar lenge.”
In Ayodhya, the brown khurchan pedas are the traditional sweets and hold significance, but there is a demand for other sweets as well. Nishant Modanwal of Saurabh Sweets shares, “Besides the pedas, rabdi is also popular. There’s a rise in the demand for it as bhog prasad and people buy it in a box or kulhad,” he adds.
Making 3,000 kilos of Raghupati Laddoos
At Raghupati Ladoo Prasadam at Ram Janmbhoomi, Ramkot, preparations are on in full swing as well for another speciality. R Sheshadree of the shop that is part of the Mahavir Mandir Trust says, “Around 3,000 kilos of Raghupati laddoos have been prepared by 35 karigars as prasad. Made with besan, boondi, kaju, kismis and elaichi, the light-brown laddoos are in high demand. People are placing bulk orders of 30-40kg for it since the last few days and we expect that demand to rise further. Ab toh din mein rasoi chalti hai, but January 22 se raat mein bhi bhandara chalane ke liye aadesh hua hai.”
Hanuman Garhi Laddoo gets GI tag
Another sweet reason to celebrate is that Ayodhya’s traditional delicacy Hanuman Garhi Laddoo has got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. As per reports, 45 tonnes of this laddoo will be offered to Shri Ram today. Made only in Ayodhya, this preapared with roasted besan (gram flour), ghee and sugar.
