‘Sandesh’ a local form of Begali sweetmeat produced in Jamurki area in Tangail’s Mirzapur is gaining popularity across country through ‘Kalidas Mishtanno Bhandar’ a famous sweet shop of Jamurki area.
There are two sweet shops in the area. One is ‘Jamurki Adi Sandesh’ and the other is ‘Kalidas Mishtanno Bhandar’. Although, Jamurki Adi Sandesh is more ancient but Kalidas has gained more popularity among locals for its Sandesh.
There are very few people among the political leaders and people from literature and cultural arena who have not eaten this country-famous Sandesh of Jamurki's Kalidas.
It is known by story, Madan Mohan Saha of Jamurki village used to trade sweets. After his death, his son Kalidas Saha took over the charge of the business.
He used to make two types of Sandesh with sugar and Patali (molasses) along with other sweets. His Sandesh was so delicious that soon its reputation spread around. Since then, the Sandesh of Jamurki’s Kalidas has become famous among locals. Kalidas Saha passed away in 1972.
Among the two sons of Kalidas Saha, Samar Saha is currently engaged in the sweets business. The other son Gautam Saha is now a London expatriate. Every day from dawn to midnight, this very typical sweet-shop adjacent to the Dhaka-Tangail highway remains crowded with shoppers, due to the high demands of its delicious Sandesh.
While traveling on the highway, passengers from different parts of the country stopping their cars buys this delicious Sandesh from the shop. Many people even sit in the shop with their family and relatives to eat the Sandesh on their way.
Samar Saha, the current owner of the shop, said to produce their Sandesh, first water is drained from the milk to make curd. Then, molasses is heated in another pan for adding with the curd. He said they never compromise on molasses because without good date molasses, the Sandesh loses its unique taste and aromatic smell. When the molasses is heated, the processed curd is added to it with a bit of cardamom powder. This Sandesh is made on a low flame in a wooden clay oven. The wood from the Gajari tree is the first choice to go with the process.
A very different flavor is added to the Sandesh by the Clay Stove and Gajari wood. However Samar Saha believes, it is the honesty and divine contribution that has brought fame to their Sandesh.