Jhumri Tilaiya kalakands are creamier than the ordinary variety

Koderma, Feb. 11: When mica has lost its sheen, kalakand (a sweet made of milk, keshar and cream) of Jhumri Tilaiya moved in to fill the void.

Kalakand took off in Jhumri Tilaiya when the Bhatia brothers brought in the concept of rasdar kalakand and the idea clicked.

The Jhumri Tilaiya kalakand was soaked while other varieties available were dry. The Jhumri Tilaiya variety was creamy as well. Keshar is used in the keshariya kalakand, which is yellowish in colour.

“We primarily use buffalo milk and when sufficient amount of milk is not found, we use milk powder, said Omprakash Khetan, a sweet shop owner. His sweet shop, Anand Vihar, mostly sold kalakands.

Other major kalakand manufacturers and suppliers include Kanhaiya Confectionery, Vandana Sweets and Chabbra Sweets.

The bifurcation of Bihar dealt a mild blow to the lucrative kalakand business.

“Earlier, people from South Bihar (present Jharkhand) used to gift kalakand packs of Jhumri Tilaiya to secretariat officials and netas for favours. The town used to be a hot destination for politicians and bureaucrats as well.

The kalakand makers were mostly local residents. “We inherited the art of kalakand-making from our forefathers and the earlier karigars,” said a sweetmeat maker at the Anand Vihar sweet house. At least 50 such karigars were in the town.

Kailash Choudhary, proprietor of Vandana Sweets, said in unified Bihar, the sale surged and shopkeepers registered a boom time.

Sales decreased drastically after the bifurcation of the state.

Now, each sweet shop, on an average, sells about 200 kg of kalakand each day.

But still the daughters of Jhumri Tilaiya town, who were married off to other cities put pressure on their in-laws for the due attention they deserve against the very special Jhumri Tilaiya kalakand.