Sugary delight

What could be better than having jewelries that are eatable and that too sweet and in various sizes and shapes to mark a special occasion as Gudi Padva. One of the most important thing of the festival,Gathi is a hit among young and old alike given its religious relevance,décor value or taste. While the most common Gathi is a garland of flower shaped sugar candies,bangle-shaped Gathis too are in huge demand. While the markets are full of various sizes of Gathis,narrow lanes in Kasba Peth and some other parts of the city is busy with the production work of the same.

“From last three generations we are into making Gathis. And irrespective of the profit margin,we have been making Gathis for the auspicious occasion,” says Ganesh Prabhakar Dhembe,who runs a small in-house Gathi manufacturing unit.

Explaining the procedure,he says,“Its is not easy as it seems. While boiling sugar syrup,we add lemon and hydro powder to remove impurities and make it tight and directly poured in the wooden moulds. A five to six minute wait gives out one Gathi,but what takes time is the decoration of a Gathi. This is sold according to the weight,so we make it accordingly. Starting from a 25 gm the highest goes up to a 5 kg Gathi.”

“While a normal Gathi has seven to eight padaks with one vaghnakh in the middle,a big 5 kg Gathi has 11 padaks with a vaghnakh or a champakali in the middle. The names are based on shapes of padaks. We decorate the Gathis with bells,sequins,coloured balls,glass and other decoratives,” he adds.

Mahendra Gadve,owner,Kaka Halwai,says,“The Gathis are attached to Gudi and offered to God,so it is high in religious relevance. We have various shapes including the navgraha,animals,flowers and many others. While common people usually buy the 200 to 500 gm Gathi,big Ganapati mandals and mandirs buy the 5 kg Gathi as well.”

“Gathis is not only offered to God but is also given as blessings to kids,who relish every bit of it. Coconut,bangle and garland shaped Gathis are given to newly wed aughters and son-in-laws as a blessing of long and happy life,for this we have heavily decorated Gathis. Gathis are attached to Gudi along with Neem leaves that symbolises a balance of sweet and bitter moments in ones life,” says Amar Agarwal of Agarwal Sweet Corner.

No matter how old or new is the sweet tradition of spreading love and sharing good wishes through Gathis,but it is definitely the most delicious way.