The sandesh from Purani Dilli

There was a small Bengali community staying around Kashmere Gate and Chandni Chowk areas since the 1880s. And Mohinimohan’s shop was meant to cater to the community as well whoever had a sweet tooth. By 1922,the first version of the shop was ready and in 1929,it shifted to Chandni Chowk.

The shop,Annapurna Bhandar,is today perhaps the oldest Bengali sweets shop in the city. “Old Delhi has always been a cauldron of culinary adventures and there couldn’t have been a better place to locate this shop,” says 60-year-old Shishir Mukherjee,one of the three brothers who presently own Annapurna Bhandar. Hs elder brother,Mihir,and younger brother,Tushar,are the other two owners.

In 1946,the Mukherjees shifted their karkhana —where around 20 people continue to make sweets even today—to a nearby house in Kucha Lacchu Singh.

Mohinimohan never forgot his days with the Railways. The shop was in the shape of a first-class railway compartment. “The local rickshawallas and tongawallas had to be told to drive to the railway buggi and they would drop people right outside the shop. Inside,it resembled the plush interiors of a first-class compartment,complete with a marble basin. In 1981,as the wooden structure was falling apart,we had to get it renovated into a normal shop,” recalls Shishir Mukherjee.

The shop,opposite Gurdwara Shishganj and next to the fountain,is a landmark in Chandni Chowk and patrons have included Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. “Indiraji was very fond of our sweets. There were days,when she would place an order and request us to deliver within a couple of hours. We were also invited to her house,” says Shishir Mukherjee,adding that there are families whose three generations have been regular customers of the shop.

In fact,on Tuesday,as Bengalis will usher in their New Year or naba barsha,a number of families will travel from across the city and adjacent Faridabad,Ghaziabad,Noida and Gurgaon to this shop to buy sandesh,rosogolla,kancha golla,ras madhuri,anandobhog,dibahar,chamcham,mishti doi.

There are also two branches of the shop in the city and several namesakes,says Mukherjee. “Annapurna being one of the names of the Mother Goddess,it cannot be registered and as a result,anyone can name his or her shop Annapurna,” he adds. That does not worry Mukherjee. He is more worried about the fact that the next generation is not interested in continuing the family tradition. “The younger generation has taken up other professions. Besides,managing this business is tough. Right now,we brothers are working hard to keep alive our grandfather’s dream,” he says.