Thursday, July 2, 2015

Delhi's iconic 'Ghantewala' sweet shop downs shutters (Source: zeenews.india.com )

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Capital's iconic 'Ghantewala' sweet shop, which was considered a heritage of Delhi and had been serving mouth-watering delicacies for more than two centuries, downed its shutters on Thursday.

Ghantewala's major attraction was the 'sohna halwa' which was relished not only by the locals, but even big personalities such as ex-prime ministers Rajiv Gandhi, Morarji Desai and Bollywood singer Mohd Rafi who used to visit the shop to savour the sweets which were prepared with pure desi ghee.

The 225-year-old landmark sweet shop, situated in the bustling streets of Channdni Chowk, was closed down as the cost of making sweets became quite high along with falling sales.

Ghantewala was so famous that in 1954, Bollywood filmaker BR Chopra had shot a few portions of his film 'Chandni Chowk' in the shop.

Lala Sukh Ram, who had migrated from Rajasthan to Delhi during the Mughal era, is believed to have started the business of selling the sweet delicacies. Mughal emperor Shah Alam was very fond of his sweets and was a regular customer.

A few years ago, the Ghantewala shop was divided between two brothers with one being named Ghante Wala Shahi halwai. It closed down around five years ago and a saree shop was opened in its place.

However, one of the brothers, Sushant Jain, continued with the business, but it is being said that stiff competition and low sale forced him to bring curtains on his family's legacy.




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