Bengal confectioners race against time to meet deadline for supplying ladoos
Telegraph | 21 January 2024
Ahead of the ceremonial inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Monday, confectioners in several areas of Bengal are racing against time to meet the Sunday deadline for supplying huge quantities of ladoos ordered by the organisations and individuals aligned to the saffron ecosystem.
Most orders are for motichur ladoos.
Sweet shop owners said they were trying hard to meet the Sunday night deadline as they wanted their ladoos to be offered to Lord Ram and then be distributed as “prasad”.
Narayan Modak, a confectioner in Nadia’s Karimpur, said: “There is a great demand for motichur ladoos on the occasion of the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. I have so far got two separate orders for 2,100 and 3,000 ladoos. I could have accepted more orders if I had better infrastructure and more staff.”
To meet the demand and deadline, several sweet shop owners have hired expert ladoo makers and made special arrangements.
Tapas Das, owner of Shri Gopal Mistanna Bhandar in Krishnagar, said: “I have received two separate orders of 6,000 ladoos each from two individuals for January 22. At the same time, I am preparing 2,000 additional motichur ladoos anticipating a sudden spike in local demand on Monday.”
In Nadia’s Chakdaha, confectioner Sanjib Ghosh prepared special boxes to deliver two different types of ladoos.
“Ladoo is popular as prasad for Lord Ram. So, there is a craze to order ladoos for January 22,” said Pintu Agarwal, a trader and trustee member of Radha-Krishna temple in Karimpur. The trust has ordered around 3,000 ladoos for the distribution to mark the opening ceremony of the Ram temple.
“Sri Ramachandra and Sri Krishna are the same soul. So we have planned to celebrate the event and distribute ladoos to the devotees,” Agarwal said.
The BJP is going all out to use the Ram temple inauguration as a political programme to connect with the people. Nadia BJP spokesperson Sandip Majumdar said: “Many of our party activists have placed orders for ladoos at an individual level. Thousands of ladoos will be distributed, along with rice bhogs, after Modiji performs the inaugural rituals in Ayodhya.”
Most confectioners in the Naihati-Barrackpore belt in North 24-Parganas have also been flooded with demand for ladoos.
A confectioner in Kankinara said: “The demand for ladoos has been pouring in from Friday as pujas and havans are taking place at various Hanuman temples in the area. I have been supplying around 1,000 ladoos daily over the past few days. But for Monday, I have an order for around 7,000 ladoos from three individuals.”
A confectioner, who refused to be identified, in Hooghly’s Chandernagore said: “It is not that only the people associated with BJP have placed orders but some outside the saffron ecosystem have also ordered ladoos for Monday.”