The largest festival of Bengalis, Durga Puja, is here and people have geared up to eat good food, Bengali sweets are always welcome on the platter. Sweet Shops in Kolkata are busy catering to customers by bringing out new and innovative flavours during Durga Puja.
Special sweets are being made like agomani sandesh, kiwi sandesh, abar khabo sandesh, chandrapuli and kaju flower. The simple sandesh too, is getting new flavours, like butterscotch, sitaphal and blueberry sandesh.
Priyanka Mullick of Balaram Mullick Sweet Shop, which has several branches across the city said, "Durga Puja is the biggest festival for us and a lot of sweets have been made. The latest sandesh that has been launched is a sandesh made of pan flavour. The Tribeni sandesh, malai sandesh is new this time. I think people will like this a lot. Every year we make saradiya and agamani sandesh."
Partha Dey, spokesperson of Girish Dey and Nakul Chandra Nandy, which is a sweet shop in North Kolkata that specialises in selling various varieties of sandesh said, "There is a demand whole year round, but more so during an occasion like Durga Puja which is a big festival for Bengalis. The same sweets made before Durga Puja are highlighted during Durga Puja like Sitaphal sandesh which is a Durga Puja special."
The traditional baked rosogolla and misti doi, however, are still at the peak of popularity. There is demand for the old sweets too, which give people yet another excuse to pop in a sweet meat.
A customer Tapan Kumar Dey said, "I have to give sweets to relatives if they come to our house or if we go to their house. Sweets are a must during Durga Puja,"
Another customer, Amitesh Mukherjee, looks at buying sweets to give to friends and relatives on Puja. "On the occasion of Bijaya Dasami, a lot of sweets are bought which are fried and sweets made of chenna," said Amitesh Mukherjee.
From offering prayers to Goddess Durga to popping in a sweet meat after a hearty pujo meal, the Kolkata misti never goes out of style.