What this attack on Karachi Bakery reveals about our new 'patriotism'
Karachi Bakery is not a startup that you can afford to not know its history.
A group of people raising a demand to remove ‘Karachi’ from the name of a ‘Karachi Bakery’ store in Bengaluru following the Pulwama attack must be one of the saddest days for the country. Our ‘patriots’ don’t know our history. They don’t have enough time to savour a piece of Osmania biscuit. Or, do they want to change the name of Osmania biscuits as well?
Karachi Bakery is not a startup that you can afford to not know its history.
Khanchand Ramnani, a Sindhi Hindu, moved to India and settled in Hyderabad during the Partition. In 1952, he started his bakery business with his three sons at Hyderabad’s Moazzam Jahi Market. Little did he know that this bakery would become the true icon of Hyderabad baking, but won’t pass the test of nationalism six decades later as there are lingering memories of his childhood in the name of the brand.
Now the business, which has forayed into all sections of baking, including cakes, pastries, chocolates, macaroons etc., is in the hands of the third generation of the family. The dough for their famous biscuits is still made manually.
It’s interesting how Hyderabad’s food culture nurtures and carries on with two different streams of influence. On one hand, there is idli-dosa-sambar-tamarind rice. On the other, there is biryani-haleem-kebab.
Irani chai and Osmania biscuits — a must-have evening delicacy for Hyderabad — belong to the second group but is loved by all and sundry.
There are interesting stories about this Osmania biscuit.
#KarachiBakery pic.twitter.com/S5KHB7Nm0b
— Karachi Bakery (@KarachiBakery) February 23, 2019
Some attribute it to the fancy of Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, the last Nizam of the princely state of Hyderabad — who was the world’s richest man in 1937 according to the Time magazine. It is said he wanted to have some biscuits which would taste both sweet and salty at the same time. This resulted in these pieces of heavenly delight which just melt in our mouth.
Many say that these biscuits were first made in Osmania General Hospital and were recommended to patients for instant energy, and hence are named as such.
Years later, a Karachi baker coming to Hyderabad and deciding to explore — and experiment with — the Nizami food culture of the city is surely a part of our rich history. But to these protesters, it was just ‘Karachi’ which stood out.
“These people were not educated. I tried to explain to them that we are 100 percent Indian, but they did not want to listen,” the manager of the Bengaluru store reportedly told the Huffington Post.
A photo of the signboard of the store with the Karachi portion covered went viral on social media. This cover is actually not on the signboard — it's on our sense and education.
Or, is this an extension of the name-changing wave we have just encountered at various official levels?