Soan papdi – The humble Indian mithai that fell prey to relentless trolling and MNC assault

Most of you reading this must be 21st-century born, either millennials or GenZ, and every viewer must be a 20th or 21st-century born with a mobile handset and an internet connection, as our generation is often curious about what actual Bharat looked like. What were the dresses that our ancestors wore? What was the cuisine like? How did people converse among themselves? and, what did the lifestyle used to be?

Well, fortunately, our history has been documented in the form of epics that dictate not only our civilisational values but also other things about the traditional culture of Bharat. However, the landmass has been the victim of numerous foreign invasions, be it Mongols, Turks, Mughals, Irani, Afghani, Portuguese, Dutch, or British.

The impact of foreign invasion on our culture

What did every invasion do? Each and every foreign invasion drifted us away from our roots, and then happened the evolution of a composite culture that must not be celebrated. How, you may ask? Look around. From cuisine to furniture to dressing style, none has remained original, and every aspect of our lives reflects our cultural subjugation by foreign powers.

Let me put forward some examples. How do we speak Hindi now? as a mishmash of words from different languages and dialects like Urdu, Dakhani, and even Pashto. We cannot even ask for water without using a Portuguese word that is‘ gilaas’. Look at our clothing and see how we’ve progressed from dhoti and saree to salwar kameez and sherwani.

The cultural mismatch did bring other cultures to mainland India, but simultaneously it also eroded our culture. Who should be held responsible for the same, only the foreign invaders, or are we also equally to blame? Well, to speak the truth, we are equally responsible for the erosion of our culture and for mocking them. The most famous sweet of India, soan papdi, may meet the same fate in the coming months.

Soanpapdi – The Indian delicacy

We Indians love sweets, and this is a fact none can deny. We love sweets so much that we convert every celebration or festival to’mithaiyon ka tyohar’. Thanks to our diverse culture from north to south and from east to west, we have a whole lot of options when it comes to choosing sweets. It can be sondesh, roshogulla or a gehwar, may be gulab jamun or kaju katli, or the most loved and with something I associate with my childhood memories with, Soanpapdi.

As Indians, no one can claim that they never had soan papdi. Soan papdi is one of the most famous Indian desserts that gains special attention around festivities. Soan papdi is called by many names, like patisa, san papri, sohan papdi, or shonpapdi. It has a flaky texture and comes mostly in a square shape; hence it is often called Indian candy floss.

The dessert, which is sold everywhere in India, has a very contentious origin. The dessert is said to have originated in the western states of Maharashtra and later spread across Gujarat, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Some reports credit the Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh for the origin of the desert.

The cultural threads associated with Soan papdi

Tell me, how will today’s children remember their childhood? somewhat like getting dressed up after pre-nursery tuition and playing in the play zone of the malls or binge-watching cartoons the whole day. Well, I find myself lucky that my childhood has not been like this.

I recall having bruises on my knees after playing for three long hours, and then with some of my favourite and most frequently brought sweets, Soan papdi. Every time I travelled, or should I say most of us travelled, we must have encountered soan papdi valas selling soan papdi in dabbas on our commutes.

Another memory that has been passed on to me from my parents is that soan papdi, unlike any other sweet, was brought in exchange for many domestic things like wheat or old clothes. None can compare with the cultural threads that Soan Papdi owns.

How mockery was made out of Soan Papdi  

Unfortunately, the sweet that was such an important part of our childhood while we were growing up has now become meme material. As soon as the festive season approaches, soan papdi is shamelessly converted into a butt of jokes. People generally tend to exchange gifts during this festive season, especially around Diwali. The gifts include sweets and dry fruits other than soan papdi.

In the recent past, with the advent of social media platforms, we have had the facility, or a privilege, I say, to speak or write anything and everything we feel, obviously with some reasonable restrictions. Some users might have written about the use of Soan Papdi some years back. Since then, it has become a tradition to joke about soan papdi when Diwali is around the corner. Here are some examples of the same.

Who benefitted from demeaning Soan papdi

Whatever may be happening around the world, there is always one or many who benefit from it. With all the flak that was aimed at soan papdi, there were many who benefited from the market of soan papdi going down. Don’t be surprised; in current times, social media not only drives but forms popular opinion. The flak against Soan Papdi affected its market share, especially in tier 2 and metro cities. The MNCs who were into the sweet business benefitted from the same. As people ditched soan papdi, these MNCs served as viable options and their products became the go-to gift. If you have to gift someone on Diwali and you are not buying a packet of soan papdi, what would you prefer? Going to a halwai and asking for, ‘bhaiya ek kilo kaju katli pack kar do’ or would you just buy any packed item of dry fruits or maybe chocolates? Majority of us are designed to pick the latter route. This is how companies’ products like Dairy Milk became the “Facebook” of the gifting industry. And this is how we ditched our very own desi healthy soan papdi for chocolates.

The pressing need of reviving the culture of Soan Papdi

So, what do you think? Are we making a heap out of nothing? What is the problem if one chooses chocolates or packed dry fruits over desi Indian mithai? There is a problem, a serious one. We are doing to Soan Papdi what we did to our Sanatan Dharma, our traditional Bhartiya cuisine, or to our language. We are once again ditching something unique and original for the sake of what looks modern.

A packet of chocolate may look modern to you but remember that coat-tie looked modern to many Indians who sold India at the hands of the British East India Company. You can eat anything you want and like, but for Hindu festivals, reserve your meals for desi cuisine. Today it’s a mithai, tomorrow it can be a tradition or custom, and next it could be our dharma. We need to protect what’s our own. No one else would do it for us.

The health benefits of Soan papdi

What is the popular opinion, that you need to hit the gym to shed off all the calories that you gathered along with the Diwali sweets. However, contrary to what the influencers tell you, soan papdi can actually be good for your health. Soan papdi helps in weight loss and management- Yes, don’t be shocked, rather recall the ingredients of soan papdi. Soan papdi is made up of gram flour, which is rich in protein as well as fibre, an ideal ingredient for weight management.

It makes you feel fuller for long duration, thus saving you from the menace of snacking and brunching. Soan papdi, despite being a mithai, helps in diabetes management as the gram flour present in it consists of a huge amount of magnesium that helps in the better secretion of insulin. Gram flour also maintains optimum blood pressure and is loaded with antioxidants, which means that it prevents you from cardiovascular diseases. Dry fruits present in soan papdi also help maintain digestion as they are rich in fibre protein and healthy fat.

I am sure that no one would have ever told you about the health benefits of soan papdi. All you might have seen till now would have been jokes on soan papdi. Well, now that you know the health benefits, you can now eat soan papdi, in a limited amount, and teach a lesson to all those trollers and MNCs who made you feel bad about your very own desi mithai.

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