It is well known that, Bengal loves its sweets. Any meal of Bengali people will be incomplete without a sweet dish or dessert. Historically, Eastern India has been pioneer in using tender cottage cheese or chhena is sweets. Some credit the Portuguese
for passing on the art of using chhena in cooking and Bengalis were clever enough to mold the use as per local cuisine. Be it soft sandesh or juicy rashogolla, they all originated from this part of the country. I am not going into debate of whether they originated from present day West Bengal or Odisha.
But, there are several other local Bengali sweets which do not depend on chhena as one of its main ingredient.
Sarbhaja and Sarpuriya are two of such sweets. And, Krishnanagar is famous for them.
Krishnanagar
Krishnanagar is a historic city in Nadia district of West Bengal. The place where the city stands today was occupied by a village called ‘Reui’ (রেউই). Raja Krishna Chandra Ray (1728 – 1782), a zamindar from the Nadia Raj Family, built his palace (rajbari) there. His capital was named Krishnanagar either after his own name or after Lord Krishna whom he worshiped. Raja Krishna Chandra Ray was a patron or art and Hindu culture. With time peaceful Krishnanagarbecame an important centre for art, culture and literature. People belonging to various trade settled in and around Krishnanagar. Prominent among them clay artists,sculptures and milkmen. Moyras (who prepare sweets) of Krishnanagarbecame famous across Bengal and beyond. Some sweets bear the hallmark of the city. ‘Sarbhaja’ and ‘Sarpuria’ are inventions of Krishnanagar’sown Surukumar Das.
It is also said that, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu of Nabadwip (1486 – 1534) loved a sweet called Sarpuria. Though there is scant evidence that the same sarpuria was revised and commercialized in Krishnanagar, or it was a different recipe.
Sarpuriya & Sarbhaja – History
During late 1800 in Krishnagar lived a small time sweet manufacturer and vendor called Surukumar Das. Few details are available about him, apart from that he was a hard worker and experimented with sweets. One of such experiments with milk skin (or sar) formed while cooling milk after boiling raw milk may have resulted in the Sarpuriya & Sarbhaja. It is said that to guard his recipe, he used to prepare the sweets at night and behind closed doors. He knew well that these two sweets were star attractions among his sweets.
Adhar Chandra Das & Sons – The Shop
Surukumar Das’s son, Adhar Chandra Das, learned the art of making the two sweets while assisting his father. Like his father, young Adhar Chandra Das initially did not have any shop. He used to ferry them himself by traveling to various places. Popularity of the sweets soared. In 1902, he established a shop on Nediarpara, Krishnanagar (present AnanthariMitra Road).
After him, Jagabandhu Das (1921-1985) (elder son of Adhar Chandra Das) continued the tradition with exuberant excellence. He is also accredited with producing various new exotic sweets like- Khirpuli, Nikhuti, Srimoti (RakamBarfi), Rasa Kadamba, Roll Cream and Sandwich. Soon the popularity of these sweets engulf the local province.
Currently, Goutam Das (son of Jagabandhu Das) is the owner of the century old shop, who is also an Advocate by Profession.
With time taste of customers have changed, and so has the offering of the shop. Several new sweets and snacks items have been introduces, while retaining same tradition of the classic Sarpuriya & Sarbhaja.
There is another shabby looking namesake shop next to this shop. It is popular among locals. But presentation and recognition is also important.
The Sweets
Sarpuriya has a very creamy texture and is not very rich in sweetness. Its moderate sweetness and softness attracts people of all age and like likeness. Fragments of sar (milk skin) can be felt in mouth after every bite.
Sarbhaja is soft sweet sandwiched between thick layer of smoked sar (milk skin). This version of Sarbhaja is distinct and different from namesake sweet sold in various shops of Kolkata and not fried. Though personally I have always liked the Kolkata version of Sarpuriya from specific shops, this version was worth a try.
Location of Shop
Current location of the shop is shown below:
Address:
Adhar Chandra Das & Sons
15, Ananta Hari Mitra Road,
Nediarpara, Krishnanagar,
West Bengal 741101
Open: 06:30 am to 10 pm daily
Phone: 03472 252 139
https://www.adharsweets.in/
They also have a stall at Misti Hub, Rajarhat. It is right beside the road to airport, and very easily accessible to anyone visiting Kolkata.
Our Verdict
As a Bengali myself is feel, you may love sweet or you may not. But one can NEVER HATE SWEETS! For anyone visiting Krishnanagar or Mayapur (via Krishnanagar), do make it a point to halt at Adhar Chandra Das & Sons and taste their Sarpuriya & Sarbhaja, if not other sweets and snacks. You will love the taste, and definitely live to boast about tasting the famous ‘Krishnanagar’s Sarpuriya & Sarbhaja’ when they get Geographic Identity (GI) Tag from Govt. of India.
Govt. of West Bengal have applied for GI tag for Sarpuriya & Sarbhaja since 2016, approval of which is still pending.
Truly, West Bengal Tourism’s tagline is “West Bengal: The Sweetest Part of India”.
Source:
Personal visit
https://www.adharsweets.in/
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/gi-tag-planned-for-four-bengali-sweets/article8269133.ece
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarpuria
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishnanagar,_Nadia
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