Jhumri Tilaiya kalakands are creamier than the ordinary variety

Koderma, Feb. 11: When mica has lost its glory in Koderma, kalakand (a sweet made of milk, keshar and cream) of Jhumri Tilaiya has whipped up a name for itself.

Origin of kalakand in Jhumri Tilaiya dates back to the sixties when the Bhatia brothers brought in the concept of rasdar kalakand and the idea became an instant hit.

The Jhumri Tilaiya kalakand was soaked while other kalakand available were dry. The Jhumri Tilaiya variety was creamier 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 owners. His sweet shop, Anand Vihar, mostly sold kalakands.

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

But the 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 karigars in the kalakand-making process were mostly local residents. “We inherited the art of kalakand-making from our forefathers and the earlier employed karigars,” said one of the karigars with the Anand Vihar sweet house. At least fifty 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. But the 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.