Ahead of assembly polls, Kolkata sweet shop comes out with political 'Sandesh'

By Joymala Bagchi
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 5: With election fever swinging in high altitude in West Bengal, Kolkata's iconic sweet shop Balaram Mallick Radharaman Mallick has etched political slogans and party symbols on Sandesh, a Bengali sweet dish made of milk, sugar and other ingredients.
The slogans "Khela Hobe" (The game is on) and "Jai Shree Ram" are most commonly visible, with the shop seeing a minimum of 150 orders each day since February 27.
Along with this, the shop is also displaying Sandeshs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 'Didi', with carved images of the two leaders.
The Sandesh -- weighing 250 grams -- that with political symbol and images of leaders costs Rs 170 per piece, while that of smaller size with slogans carved on it costs Rs 70.
Sudip Mallick, the owner of the shop, said, "We always make these thematic sweets based on current trends, even during cricket or football World Cups. The election is the biggest festival of democracy and we wanted to highlight this."
A customer named Molly said, "The shop is known for such variety and this is going to attract a lot of eyeballs. I am sure that like me, several people will come to buy these sweets."
Carvings of occasions such as "Bhaiphota" (Bhaiduj) on sweets have been a tradition in Bengal. However, with changing times and to keep up the competition, innovative ideas are being helmed out on sweets.
The assembly elections will be held in eight phases in the state starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes in the state will take place on May 2.