CHANDI PADVO-SURTI GHARI STORY...........
‘Sharad Purnima ‘is considered the brightest, coolest full moon night of the Hindu calendar year. Folk lore goes that on this Poonam, Lord Krishna performed ras- leela through the entire night with thousands of gopis in his ek-anek avatar. Garba revellers too, give it a go, for one last time, in all their colourful splendour.
Many Gujaratis observe a fast which is later broken by consuming ‘doodh-poha’ (offered as the first rice harvest to God) and galka bhajiyas served piping hot, on terraces.
On the next day, falls ‘chandi padvo’; celebrated with feasting, in Surat. Night picnics are organised at Dumas, farmhouses and sheris. Surtis reportedly consume and export more than 100 tons of ghari. Relished with bhusu-a namkeen mixture, ghari is distributed amongst family and friends .Packaged plastic boxes are sent country wide and to N.R.I s.Although this Surti speciality is in demand through the year, Surtis relish it only during the chandi padva day.
The trend is believed to have started in the 17th century. A Chauta bazaar sweetmeat shop owner, whose business had seen better days, went to the akhada of Nirvaan baba at Nawab ni wadi, Begumpura on Sharad Poornima, to seek blessings and luck for better business. Baba appeared in his dream and asked him to prepare a sweetmeat that looked like a full moon and offer it to please the Gods, on the next day. Thus,’Ghari’ is covered with ghee to look like the moon and relished on chandi padva.
Gharis are made with mawa, bits of almonds, pistachios, charoli, cardamom and some blend it with kesar. This mixture is cooked, cooled and rolled into a palm sized ball, then enveloped in a thin layer of kneaded plain flour, deep fried in ghee and later set in a layer of the same. Sold commercially, at most of Surat’s mithai shops, It is also popularly prepared to order in old city homes and ‘nyaath ni wadis ‘by communities who prefer the authentic pure version without additives like semolina and gram flour.
88 year old Surti, Leelaben Parekh’s eyes light up when she talks about her first experience of having a ghari’,’In the 1900’s,a Saurashtrian who worked for the royals of Junagadh, Dev Shankar Ghariwala,shifted to and set up shop in Surat. He sold gharis at 50 paise per piece, from Lalgate and also at the kerb of Bhagal below the Masjid. Nothing available these days tastes as good as that velvety delight. He used to add coconut milk, hand pounded in wooden mortar pestles to bind the flour. His ghari would have a thick layer of ghee that fingers would plunge into. It was packed in cane baskets lined with khakhar paans and tied with a sutli dori,’
More than 70,000 kilos of Ghari at an average price of around Rs.300 per kg will be sold on a single day in Surat this year .The divine constellation of Manekthari Poonam will be seen worldwide, but will be celebrated back to back only by ‘khai-pi ney jalsa’ loving Surtis.