Namma Angadi: A Tradition of Sweet Treats

By Sneha Ramesh, Nishi Trivedi and Nisha Singh

From the age of five, Ms. Mamatha used to go with her father to have her favourite treat, Mysore pak (Indian sweet prepared from a mixture of gram flour, ghee, and sugar syrup), from Sri Venkateshwara Sweetmeat Stall in Balepet, Bangalore. It has been more than 40 years now and she still visits the place with her children. "Any special occasion should start and end with Mysore pak from SVSMS," she says.

It's been a family tradition for many such customers who have a feeling of 'Namma angadi' (our shop), whenever they visit the shop. The store has served its customers for more than 100 years today and what’s more, continues to spread happiness and joy with new varieties of sweets.

According to Mr.N. Raghu, the owner of SVSMS, his grandfather was a vendor of home-made Mysore pak. “He used to go around on a bicycle and sell the sweet. People loved it so much that they would seek him out -- ,that is when he decided to start a shop," he reminisces. The shop, which was started in Chikkaballapur, shifted to Bangalore in 1954. The shop continues to attract a wide clientele for its freshly prepared Mysore Pak, Badam Halwa (traditional desert made from almonds, milk, sugar, and ghee), and dumrot (authentic Karnataka sweet made of ash gourd, cashews, raisins, and ghee). All these sweets are prepared in a four-storied kitchen behind the shop. Mr Raghu ensures that the kitchen has the most modern equipment and maintains strict hygiene. Incidentally, one of the floors is completely dedicated for the preparation of Mysore pak. This is because SVSMS does not serve re-heated Mysore Pak but, -instead, prepares a fresh batch of the melt-in-the-mouth sweet treat, every 15 minutes! For quality checks, Mr Raghu says they have food technicians coming in regularly to keep a check. “We have also trained employees who make sure that the standard of the sweets prepared is maintained.” In fact, more than 100 employees work behind the scenes to put up a feast for the customers, every day.

Changing tastes, changing sweets

"The food industry is something people always want more of ," says Mr Raghu. So, to keep up with such changing tastes and trends , he has introduced chaats from various parts of the country. And what do patrons think of these new items? "The pav bhaji here reminded me of the food back home," says Nishi, who is a native of Mumbai. Owing to the 'eat healthy' mindset of people in Bangalore, SVSMS now has a new line of sweets called 'next level sweets'. This fusion range includes mango delight, kaju coffee crunch and, caramel dry fruit ghujia. These sweets contain less sugar and are made of healthy ingredients such as almonds, cashew nuts and more. These sweets can be best described as 'classic flavours with contemporary ideas'.

Going by the shop’s focus on tradition, Mr Raghu , the owner believes more in word-of-mouth marketing than promotions using social media. The shop has a steady clientele and serves dozens of customers and a minimum of three to four huge orders every day. It also has several loyal overseas customers who visit the store every time they come to India. Mr Raghu stresses that he wishes to take SVSMS to greater heights without compromising on the quality and wants to keep the legacy going forward.

Shop is at: #181, Balepet, Bangalore-560053

Malleshwaram Branch : #46/1-6, Sampige Road, 2nd Main Road, Malleshwaram, Bangalore-560003