Photographed by Martha Williams
In North India, it was customary for my grandmother and I to take a tea break round 5 o’clock each afternoon, and it wasn’t a special day that required raisin scones or finger sandwiches. This was our completely satisfied hour – a restful nap and night actions to interrupt the monotony of the day. He would make his particular masala chai and name the neighborhood halwai (a conventional Indian confectioner who sells sweets and snacks) to ship the treats. Inside minutes, a bicycle would ship brown paper baggage stuffed with delicacies dripping with sugar and oil to our entrance door. There have been crispy fried samosas stuffed with spicy potatoes and inexperienced peas and piping-hot orange discs of jalebi drenched in sugar syrup. Typically he mixes it with Paneer Pakora, Kachori, Imarti or Gulab Jamun. Tea ought to have a minimum of one savory and one candy merchandise.
After I moved to Atlanta to attend college, there have been no afternoon leisure breaks or conventional outlets close by. I needed to fulfill my cravings with a sugary Starbucks cha cha latte and a granola bar whereas working between college, work, and errands. Typically, a good friend from India would present me a field of sweets that had a protracted shelf life.
Thankfully, in 2002, the primary devoted Indian candy store opened in metro Atlanta: Gokul Sweets, a Gujarati family-run enterprise in Decatur’s Patel Plaza. Some weekends, when the homesickness was insufferable, I indulged myself with a protracted drive to Decatur. The storefront appeared much more sterile than in India, however the sight of cabinets lined with baggage of fried chickpea and lentil chips and trays stacked with colourful sweets, made contemporary straight out of the kitchen, supplied some consolation.
I ordered my tea and a few treats on the counter and grabbed a sales space. My American pals who had been with me didn’t perceive my nostalgia. They loved the flavour explosion of mint and tamarind within the scrumptious chutney and the pillow-soft sponge of the rasgulla balls, however after they noticed how I relished each chunk, they turned to me and commented, “You seem like children in sweet. Store!”
I’d instruct the candy vendor to pack a mix-and-match field of milk- and almond-based sweets from the glass pastry case, my urge for food at all times exceeding the field’s capability. I pointed to vibrant yellow squares of coconut, inexperienced pistachio rolls and triangular, silver-foil-coated cashew barfis. My intention was at all times to take them dwelling for little enjoyment till my subsequent go to, however typically I would break into them the second I obtained into my automobile.
Right now, Gokul Sweets stands as a haven for Indian Individuals like me who yearn for the neighborhood stands we grew up with. The household opened a second location in Duluth; On weekends, yow will discover individuals driving to each areas from neighboring states to purchase bins of sweets for weddings and events. Within the days main as much as the Diwali pageant, cabinets empty inside minutes and features can undergo the door. And I’m undoubtedly a type of loyal prospects ready for my flip.
This text appeared in our November 2024 problem.
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