The
undivided state of Andhra Pradesh was a great big state in the Union of India
with its capital at Hyderabad. Now,
after the division of this State, it shares its borders with the State of
Telengana (the sister Sate) and Karnataka to the West, Tamilnadu to the South,
Orissa to the North and the tempestuous Bay of Bengal to its West with a long
coastline of nearly 1000 Km. Towards the
end of October 2018, I set out along with three of my companions to the middle
coastal region comprising broadly the very fertile East and West Godavari delta
regions to study on shore coastal aquaculture practices. This to explore if instrumentation and
associated communication and control technology could be applied to better
monitor and control breeding operations, improve yields and for early detection
and prevention of virus attacks.
PVT
Naidu ( A human Dynamo), Seetharam ( An unconventional Engineer cum farmer) and
my good old classmate from IIT Madras - Madireddy Nagaraj ( fondly known as
“Kakes”, short for Karate Killer) all from Bangalore were my constant
companions on these four days as we travelled from Vijayawada through
Machilipatnam, Bheemavaram, Kakinada, Rajahmaundry and back to Vijayawwada in
Ranga Rao Garu’s car who joined us in this expedition. Ranga Rao himself was a
big and progressive prawn cultivator of the region based in Machilipatnam. After visiting several prawn ponds ( Royyala Cheruvulu ) and discussions, we
got some of the basic facts and information of the business. More on this on another day and another blog.
Courtesy
the first named PVT Naidu, this trip turned out to be a Sweet Tooth Tour of
Coastal Andhra. PVT traces his ancestry from
Kakinada where his mother and his brother live and own large tracts of fertile farmlands,
Kakinada where he went to school and to college and knows the region like the
back of his hand. And at every stop on this trip his friends, his relatives,
his school mates, his College mates dropped him to greet him. Truly amazing. Now for the Sweet Tooth Tour organised by
PVT.
MALLAIAH SWEET SHOP (
Bandar Laddu )
The
first pit stop in the Sweet Tooth Tour ( STT) took us to the legendary Mallaiah Sweet shop
in Machilipatnam world famous for its “Bandar Laddu “ which enjoys the prestigious Geographical
Indication tag ( Bandar = Port. Machilipatnam was a major port for the
British, Dutch and the French). The
sweet shop now operates from a modest little room in a bylane of the town. The pushcart used by the original founder
Mallaiah still adorns the front of this shop.
BHAKTANJANEYA
SURUCHI FOODS ( Tapeswaram Khaja )
Next stop for us
pilgrims was the Bhaktanjaneya Suruchi
Foods at Tapeswaram, inventors of the imaginatively named Tapeswaram
Khaja. Dripping in ghee and moist, an
image so evocative and indicative of the pleasures concealed within, that will
transport you to seventh heaven just looking at it. Imagine biting into it !
SRI
ABHIRUCHI SWEETS KAKINADA ( Pootharekulu Sweet )
Another
stunning concoction from the Godavari delta region is the wafer thin parchment
like sweet wrapped and wrapped and rolled around itself until it becomes a
handy little flat cigar full of sugar, dry fruits and other titbits and brushed
with generous helpings of ghee. Typically this sweet called Pootharekulu is served one at a time
and thoughtfully with a few paper napkins as mandatory accessories. I have always
known Andhra for its hot spices, chillies, eye and nose watering dishes. The Sweet side of Andhra came as a total surprise
and a revelation.
GANGARAJU
DAIRY ( Gangaraju Khova )
The last shrine
to be visited on this STT was the Gangaraju Dairy Sweets shop, again operating
out a little hole in the wall
nondescript shop in the residential quarters of Rajahmundry, now pompously rechristened Rajahmahendravaram,
no doubt at the behest of some overzealous politicians. “ One ticket please to
Rajamahendravaram”. I am sure old man Gangaraju
Nimmalapudi would turn in his grave at this sacrilege.
VIJAYAWADA
AIRPORT ( Airport Security )
The final kick
of this Sweet Tooth Tour of Coastal Andhra was to come at the Vijayawada
Airport .
I placed all
the loot from the STT in a large plastic
bag on the conveyor of Airport security in Vijayawada Airport. The
young CISF officer at the Xray monitor could not believe his eyes. He took aside
the package, sniffed at it and asked me if I was carrying Bandar Halwa. “Sir, Halwa with so much Ghee dripping is not
allowed on the aircraft” he said. With a
forlorn look I was preparing to discard the halwa packet muttering to myself “
You are worse than my wife” when the young fellow came over, patted me on the back
and with a wink and smile, waved me through. “Good luck with your wife Sir,
take care .” CISF folks have gone up
several notches in my view now.
THE LOOT SAFE
AND SECURE AT HOME
Dr. Ananth S
Kodavasal October
30, 2018
