PUNJABI GHASITARAM HALWAI PRIVATE LIMITED

Corporate

Punjabi Ghasitaram Halwai Pvt. Ltd. Vippan Bajaj and his son Kunal are carrying forward a four-generation legacy of sweets and farsan with Punjabi Ghasitaram. In 1947 the partition of India and Pakistan forced Ghasitaram Bajaj to abandon his 31-yearold sweet and farsan shop, Ghasitaram Devidattaram, on Taboot Lane in Karachi. Leaving everything behind, he fled with his family to Amritsar and took refuge at his uncle’s place until he could stand on his feet again. When nothing clicked, he moved to Bombay in 1951 with his wife, Krishnavati, and 22-year-old son Govardhandas. Fast forward to 2016 and the 65-year-old Vippan remembers his father Govardhandas fondly. He was a simple man, with an education only till Class Six. A halwai, dressed in a white dhoti kurta, he would take a seat among the karigars and work on the workshop floor. He would roll ladoos and fold samosas himself. All the recipes Ghasitaram uses today were created by Govardhandas, says Vippan, who was born two months before his father set up his first production unit in Kalbadevi, Mumbai. In the earlier days he would sell his treats as a hawker, at a bakda (a wooden plank). He worked really hard to set up this business. We were five brothers and we always visited the shop in our summer vacation. He wouldn’t let us sit idle. We were given duties at the cash counter, at the packing counter, and later, even in the kitchen,& recalls Vippan, who actually studied textile engineering at VJTI. During that time Govardhandas and his brother, both of whom had five sons, fell into a family feud and they parted ways in 1978. We came to Mahim, and the business spread to Kalbadevi, Chembur, Andheri, and Lamington Road. A third separation came in 2000, when my brothers and I parted ways and [I] got the production unit to handle,” says Vippan, who had to start afresh once again and built the business on the goodwill of his father. Third-generation touch Kunal joined the business full time while his father wrapped up court cases in 2000. My father needed a helping hand, and I began to man the inventory, looking after the accounts and purchase, says the 38-year-old Kunal, who remembers digging into chole bhature and lassi as a child. Until 2002 Ghasitaram was known for its Indian food before it became an only a farsan and sweets offering. In 2003, Vippan, with the support of his sons, created an individual identity with Punjabi Ghasitaram Halwai Pvt Ltd. My sons [Kunal and Rahul] are hardworking and obedient, says Vippan, adding that the company has evolved under Kunal’s modern approach [Rahul no longer works in the business]. Under Kunal’s leadership, Ghasitaram set up a production unit to function 24 hours, making it possible to send fresh batches of sweets every morning to their six stores at Santacruz, Malad, Vashi, Mahim, Navy Nagar, and Borivali.