Kannauj and Kalawati Ka Gatta

One of the prime advantage of working in your own state and that too in the fifth largest nation of the world Uttar Pradesh, is of getting  frequent opportunities of revisiting those places that have been inalienable part of your life and memories. Today, during my official trip to Kannauj, I got one such precious opportunity of reliving and relishing them by tasting the Kannauj ka Gatta. Being a native of Farrukhabad which included Kannauj before it was carved out as an independent district, I had been quite fond of Kannauj Ka Gatta. But behold. Before you associate Gatta anyhow with our sports icon Jwala Gatta, let me tell you that Gatta is a sweet delicacy made of sugar and rosewater. It is savoured by all for its mouth watering taste and for it’s mouth dissolving texture. The best Gatta is always one which dissolves in your mouth as soon as it comes into contact with your saliva. I still remember, waiting impatiently to taste the delicacy as my train to Farrukhabad used to reach Kannauj enroute. The vendors at Kannauj station in their uniquely patented voice over used to entice all with their description of Gatta as the best sweet ever made by humans on earth. It was unique as you would normally found it nowhere beyond Kannauj. As tht train at Kannauj did not halt for more than 5 minutes, I used to push my father with all the persuasion to buy one for me. He used to normally concede for me and I normally got a good quantity some of which I used to share with my brothers and sisters too. So, the Gatta was always a bonus on this train trip to my native village.

So, today while I was visiting Kannauj,  with some hesitation I asked my staff if they knew about Gatta and whether that was still available from some decent shop. My staff who would have thought of most expensive sweets for his boss was little surprised to know my preference but were more than happy to get a good volume of them in no time. I was really very happy to see a bagful of my favourite.

So, after I completed my inspection and reached back home, I told Amma and Papa about the bagfull of sweet bounty from my trip and they too were happy to see a bagfull of Gatta after so many years. They too got nostalgic and felt very happy to relish the Gatta, though in moderation as per their age. Eating the Gatta they recalled few very old incidences of Gatta and how they used to judge about the best Gatta and that best one was made by an old lady Kalawati. Incidently the Gatta I got back to home today was also of the Kalawati brand, though not very sure if that was from same old Kalawati. It was nevertheless very tasty. I was happy to see my parents munching the Gatta and happily reliving their memories and sharing with me too. I also went into flashback and recalled my past memories and what went into my mind when I used to get that and how did I used to persuade the father to get Gatta for me. I got it today without much persuasion so perhaps it tasted little less, but savoring the Gatta after a long hiatus helped me to forget the the fatigue I got by travelling and inspection on a sunny day. I ended the day with few more walks down the memory lane and few more sweet tooth smiles!