Gondhoraj Sandesh from Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

The battle for the mishti-lover’s loyalty this festive season is between the new-age bold and the traditionally beautiful.

As Chandrapuli and Gondhoraj Sandesh go to war for the sweet tooth’s affections, market watchers see the split getting more prominent with each bite.

Calcutta alone has a little over 16,000 sweet shops and few among them have been untouched by the urge to innovate even as they cater to the cravings of those who like their sweets traditional.

“Our Chandrapuli has been a huge hit,” said Partha Nandy of Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandy, a north Calcutta landmark since 1844.

But that hasn’t prevented the shop on Ramdulal Sarkar Street from rolling out fusion fare. “Our Malai Roll with white chocolate or butterscotch and the Black Forest Sandesh have been equally in demand,” Nandy said.

At KC Das, whose founder Nobin Chandra Das set up his first outlet at Bagbazar in 1866, traditional sweets are apparently selling more this season.

“We were going through our Puja sales analysis report and the figures revealed that the demand for traditional sweets like Lobongo Lotika and Rasa Malancho had increased three times over the same period in previous years,” said Dhiman Das of KC Das. “It helped strengthen our belief that if it’s sweets from Bengal, it’s got to be traditional.”

Felu Modak, the centuries-old sweet shop in Rishra, has embraced change even while relying on its core strength so that it doesn’t miss out on either segment of customers.

While traditional fare like Chandani Kheer and Kheer Malpoa are flying off the trays, Felu Modak continues to churn out fusion fare. “This Bhai Phonta, we have decided to come up with Mango Pulp Rabri and Blackcurrant Sandesh,” said manager Amitava Modak.

Mishti, the word that melts in the mouth after any hearty meal in Bengal, has metamorphosed multiple times since the time an acquiescing confectioner named a sweet Ledikeni after Lady Canning, the wife of the first British viceroy Lord Canning.

Today, mishti comes in avatars as diverse as Chocolate Lava and Chhupa Rustum. The traditional varieties may have held on to their loyalists but the newer creations that are a fusion of east and west have found takers, too.

“Our Gondhoraj Sandesh (named so after the variety of kaffir lime that flavours it) has caught the fancy of most of our customers,” said Sudip Mullick of Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick. “We have worked very hard to find new flavours and all of them have been a hit.

So where does mishti move on from here? Those in the business believe the split between those who prefer their sweets traditional and others who are open to trying out new flavours would become more prominent by the end of the festive season.

Thank your lucky taste buds there’s no bitterness involved in this hard-fought war!

Chandrapuli from Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandy. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta