Jaggery products hit markets

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 2

To the gourmet’s delight, the traditional winter sweetmeats, made of jaggery and sugar, have flooded the market. The spell of cold wave has jacked up the sale of gur (jaggery) and sugar-made gajjak, rewris, peanuts, etc.

Prepared by traders of traditional Bharbhunjeya Wala Bazaar in the walled city, the winter snacks are sold across the city. Gajjak, rewri, sut laddu, chirvare (beaten rice), bhugga and khajoor made from sugar, jaggery and other items are popular among people, who prefer to stay indoors.

Ahead of Lohri festival, the demand of such products has risen. Such products, including groundnut and ‘til wali gajjak’ are being sold at varying prices.

Located in arterial lanes of the walled city, shopkeepers at Bharbhunjeya Wala Bazaar have been dishing out these preparations associated with the festival for centuries. It is said that the market is as old as the city. The market is located in Qilla Bhangiya, named after one of the Sikh misls.

Majority of the families in the trade have been involved in the profession of selling and preparing these items for generations. The young generation has switched over from manually to machines wherever possible to reduce the preparation time and dependence upon labour.

A traditional sweetmeat maker-cum-shopkeeper, Subhash Kumar, said some affluent people had procured machines and cornered a large chunk of business. He said youngsters in their families had now adopted machines to run the business.

During the rest of the year, they prepare ‘phulliyan’, ‘patase’ and other items for offerings at religious places.