Jalandhar Sweets Shop at Gujranwala, Pakistan.

Raman Kheeva was serving Krah Katlama at a five-star hotel in Amritsar. A senior Sikh man had already devoured four plates of the dessert and then asked the catering boy who had prepared the dish. Raman approached him and asked if there was anything wrong. The Sikh man replied that he used to eat Krah Katlama with the same taste, prepared by one Bura Mal at Gujranwala.

“Sade Gujranwala ch milda si ehi swad. Ene salan bad ohi taste aeya (I used to eat Krah Katlama with the same taste in our Gujrawala. I tasted it after so many years),” he said, adding that he had migrated from Gujrawala, now in Pakistan, after Partition. Raman turned emotional when he told the man that Bura Mal was his grandfather.

“My father cried that night after I narrated the incident to him after coming back to Jalandhar,” said Raman, owner of Gujranwala Sweets in Jalandhar city.

“My grandfather moved to Jalandhar after Partition and started selling Krah Katlama and Purian Chole here. We are thankful to God for the success we have in this profession. Our grandfather had struggled before setting up shop in Jalandhar and name it Gujjrawala Sweets,” he added.

Raman’s grandfather was a wedding cook in Gujrawala. He was an expert in cooking Gucchi rice. He had a Muslim friend in the profession, who really liked the Gucchi rice dish.

“My grandfather discussed with him how he would be free during off-season. That made his friend teach him how to make Krah Katlam. In turn, my father taught him how to cook Gucchi rice,” said Raman.

Bura Mal had first started selling Krah Katlam near Jain Temple Chowk of Gujrawala. “Same Krah Kutlam helped my grandfather earn respectfully in Jalandhar,” said Raman.

Jalandhar Sweets at Gujranwala

Mohammad Zafar, owner of Jalandhar Sweets, had migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and settled in Gujrawala. He started his business under the same name at Gujrawala.

“Our grandfather had migrated from Jalandhar. He named his shop Jalandhar Sweets after moving to Gujranwala. Now we have three such shops in Gujranwala. There is a Jalandhar Sweets in Lahore also. They are also our distant relatives,” said Salman mehmood, grandson of Mohammad Zafar.

He said, “We never faced any issue with the name of the shops. No one ever objected to it. I want to go to Jalandhar. I will soon after relations between both countries normalise. We used to listen to stories of Partition from our grandmother.”

“Our business and reputation is good by the grace of God. My grandfather had set up his shop in Jalandhar city in 1922. He knew nothing other than confectionery. So he started the same business again in Gujranwala. This name became our heritage,” said Mehmood.