Bitter times for ‘khopra mithai’ sellers in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The aroma of freshly made sweets greets wafts through the air in the lane leading to the house of Mahabub Ali in the Mahajareen camp located at Charminar. Reaching the house one notices columns of red coloured square pieces lined against the wall alongside pieces of coconut. It is ‘Nariyal ki mithai’ or ‘Khopra […]

Hyderabad: The aroma of freshly made sweets greets wafts through the air in the lane leading to the house of Mahabub Ali in the Mahajareen camp located at Charminar.

Reaching the house one notices columns of red coloured square pieces lined against the wall alongside pieces of coconut. It is ‘Nariyal ki mithai’ or ‘Khopra mithai’, a sweet prepared using coconut crush, that is relished by one and all.

For decades, sold on the streets of the old city, Nariyal ki mithai happens to be a confectionary that is relished irrespective of age. Several hundred eke out a livelihood by selling the sweet which is usually eaten with coconut as an accompaniment.

Every morning in the early hours, the sweet is freshly prepared and sold to the vendors who pile it up on their cycles or pushcarts and venture out into the streets of the old city shouting ‘Nariyal ki mithai’.

Mahabub bhai, as he is called by the vendors, has seen the ups and downs of the age old business of Nariyal ki mithai. “I myself am into it for more than four decades and learnt it from my father. Ups and downs are there in any trade and if time is bad, we switch over to the vocation and again restart,” he says.

Like most other trades, the Covid-10 pandemic had hit the sales of this confenctionary too. Says Mahabub Ali, “Thoda lockdown se pareshan huve. In the last two years there was no business due to Covid-19.”

Abid, a khopra mithai seller from Fatimanagar in Falaknuma, has been in the business for the last two decades. “However, a year ago I switched over to another trade as people were apprehensive of hygiene and safety due to Covid. Wearing plastic gloves also did not help much then,” he recalls.

If the Covid-19 had hit the business, the rise in prices of essential commodities also showed its impact. Points out Osman Ghani, a sweet vendor from Gulzar Houz, “Some people had stopped preparing it due to rising cost. Covid and subsequent lockdown has badly affected the business and now price rise is adding to the woes.”

Despite all odds, Nariyal ki mithai even today continues to hold its allure particularly for the children. The sight of the pushcart with neatly arranged red coloured confectionary, entering the lane has kids gathering around it.

Mohd Parvez, a clock repairer from Mahbub chowk, recalls his childhood and adds, “Just a sight of it takes you back to childhood days when we used to purchase it for few annas. Now it cost Rs. 20.”

Quote: In the last two years there was no business due to Covid-19. – Mahabub Ali, sweet seller

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