Sikkim’s oldest Bhatti bakery fades into oblivion

source:isikkim

DEVIKA GURUNG

Gangtok: January 30, 2012

A yellow coloured, poorly lit, old, small, two story structure, in a decrepit state from outside to inside are the only words fit for the current state of the oldest bakery of Sikkim that stands there in Chandmari, Gangtok. The bakery once had the Royals of Sikkim as its customers but is now in a desperate need of maintenance. Nothing here looks like a bakery except for the chimney. A poorly made blue wooden gate greets and a glass case displaying a variety of baked stuffs…

“It has been ten years since this bakery shifted here. Earlier we were at Tibet Road, Gangtok at ‘Kumar Saab’s house”, says 60 year old Noor Mohammad (referring to the then prince as ‘Kumar Saab). Mohammad has been baking for last 25- 26 years since it was set up.

The oldest bakery of Sikkim had no branding but a popular local name ‘Bhatti’. Apart from the Royals of Sikkim, the nearly 30 year old bakery’s delicious stuffs has been tasted by lmost all the 1st and 2nd generations of Sikkimese post 70s.

Modern technology has not touched this bakery and old traditional methods are still applied. But Mohammed has a point to defend: “Preparing in machine is faster and easier but making it in the old way has its own flavour. Man made tastes better than machine made.”


Along with one help Mohammad bakes seven varieties of buns, cakes, biscuits, patties and rolls for ‘Baxawallas’ (vendors) who sell it in the town. The work starts at five in the morning till the day ends.

“At a time, four trays fit inside the oven and we are able to bake up to 1500-2000 biscuits, cake, patties etc.”, says Mohammad. But he mourns that the number of customers have dropped dramatically over the years. “Nowadays people prefer products from fancy bakeries. Still, people with real taste of baked goodies come for us.”

Of the many changes that have come to the bakery and its products, one is the smaller size of the cup cake ( called ‘Queen Cake’). “It’s all because of inflation. We need to compromise with size, but the quality is as good as ever. We charge just Rs 2.50 per queen cake. Do you think it’s costly?”

Branding and upgrading might have helped Mohammed to upgrade, serve more customers and remain as popular as ever but change doesn’t take everyone along.

source:Sikkim Mail

The young at art

by SOMA BASU

"Meendum-2012" promises to be a mega fete spreading knowledge about arts and crafts

One may think why the hard-to-motivate age group should take to subjects that deal with the past when the present has so much more excitement to offer? But intriguingly enough, the response has been “overwhelming” to Madurai's annual event “Meendum-2012” , a socio-cultural programme for city schools organised by INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), Madurai Chapter.

Says convenor Arvind Kumar Sankar: “This year, the number of registrations is very encouraging. Teaching our children about the country's heritage is important. Appreciating one's heritage is a prerequisite for taking actions to sustain it. This is our attempt to use the rich cultural heritage of our country, State and city as a powerful tool for learning and for preparing our future custodians.”

All the fun and learning is slated for Saturday when over 1,500 middle and high school students drawn from 35 institutions are expected to explore and experiment all art forms.

The idea of ‘Meendum' was first conceived in 2009 as a display of talents of school children showcasing the city's manifold social, cultural and architectural treasures. In the first year, half-a-dozen schools, who were all members of INTACH Heritage Club put up a cultural show.

Last year, the participation doubled and students worked on heritage-specific projects.

This year the participation is up by three-folds as requests poured in from rural schools and also non-Heritage Club members.

The organizers feel, “the opportunity to know one's ancient history and tradition should not be denied to children.”

This time round, the cultural and historical background of the city will be celebrated through 18 workshops and two separate dance and music sessions.

While the star attraction on stage will be two-hour performances by Chennai-based Vidwan Vijay Siva who will introduce the nuances of Carnatic music to the students and a training session in ‘nritta', ‘abhinaya' and ‘hastalakshana' by the Kaladiksha Dance Trust artistes, the buzz of activity would be in the wide spectrum of workshops on painting with coffee powder, vegetable bloc and glass painting, jewellery, paper bag, greeting card and flower making to making photo frames, and learning to make pulli, kanya and neermael kolams and rangolis.

The Madurai Malli and Kattuchungdi that are trademarks of the city will also be taught exclusively during the day long programme. There will be oodles of information available and every participant will find enough scope to learn and understand the relationship between daily life and local economy and traditions.

“Students have the best abilities for learning productively. The aim is to help them discover the importance of maintaining and preserving their culture and traditions not only for self-enhancement but also for use by others.

Such an experience will encourage them to go back to their roots, and respect, appreciate and protect the different forms of heritage. The idea is to inculcate a sense of belonging,” says Arvind Sankar.

The venue for meendum-2012 is SDH Jain Vidyalaya Higher Seconday School, Thirupalai. The programme will be on from 9.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m.

Those interested can also register at the venue. Entry fee is Rs.1,500 per school for participating in all the workshops and events. Two students per school will be allowed in each workshop except for the dance and music workshops which maximum of 10 students from every school can attend.

For further details or queries, call 9994499974, 9486148288, 9442103490.

Sikkim in different moods !

WANTED an Army of Conscience Keep

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) invites you as an Indian, to join the fight for conserving India’s heritage.

You don’t have to be an archaeologist or a historian to join INTACH. You just have to care enough for India’s heritage. Today, more than ever, there is an urgent need for action A need for all of us to come together…to pool our resources, to voice our concern and, if necessary, to fight to preserve India’s heritage. It is to fulfill this need that a group of citizens came together to form INTACH.



A Heritage Once Lost is Lost Forever
In the past one hundred years more historic monuments have been destroyed, more artifacts stolen, more oral traditions lost forever - than in all the years our civilization has been in existence.

We seem to have lost the reverence that our ancestors had for all that nature and man had created. We seem no longer to care and our ‘indifference’ has already begun to take its toll. Every day, somewhere in the country, a historic building is pulled down in the name of progress. Others are damaged by flagrant vandalism or allowed to decay and fall.

Invaluable works of art and manuscripts are dumped in go downs without documentation and records. No one ever knows how many are lost, stolen or damaged beyond repair. Priceless manuscripts are sold; unknowingly to kabadi wallas…ancient wooden carvings are broken down and burnt as firewood. Commercialization and mass production have begun to erode our oral traditions and craft skills.

At this rate our children may never be able to experience the richness and wonder of our heritage.

You as a citizen of India have the right to put an end to this senseless destruction. You have the right to voice your concern and a responsibility to protect your environment - and your heritage - whether it is preserving the character, beauty and greenery of your locality or conserving the glory of the Taj Mahal.

Gangtok Heritage Walk flagged off on 2 Oct 2010 by HCM of Sikkim

The Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling flagged off the Heritage walk on the theme ‘Know your Sikkim Better’ at MG Marg, Gangtok on 2nd October 2010 . The Heritage walk was organized by the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage (INTACH), Sikkim Chapter on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. The walk was being planned as self educating and self awareness activity and started from Tourism Department, MG Marg covering National Highway and later culminated at Tashiling Secretariat, Gangtok. The walk was attended by the students in and around Gangtok, senior citizens and local gentry. 

Heritage walk on Gandhi Jayanti day

PTI | 06:09 PM,Sep 30,2010

Gangtok, Sep 30 (PTI) The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Sikkim Chapter, has announced plans to organise a heritage walk on the theme, "Know Your Sikkim Better" on the Gandhi Jayanti day. The heritage walk is being planned as "self-educating and self-awareness activity" and is scheduled to start from the Gandhi statue at MG Marg on Saturday. The participants will be taken to various heritage sites and buildings in and around Gangtok and get sensitized on preservation of both tangible and non-tangible cultural heritage of Sikkim, an INTACH press release said.