Tyohaar Sweets, a well-known sweet shop in Jaipur, has renamed several of its traditional offerings in a bid to showcase national pride. The word ‘Pak’, commonly found in the names of Indian sweets, has been replaced with ‘Shree’.
For instance, Moti Pak is now Moti Shree, and Mysore Pak has been renamed Mysore Shree. The shop’s owner, Anjali Jain, stated that the move was aimed at instilling patriotism not just among soldiers, but among all citizens.
“We decided to remove ‘Pak’ from the names of our sweets and replace it with more culturally resonant and patriotic alternatives,” Jain said.
The initiative aligns with the shop’s slogan: “Ordinary Is Boring – Tyohaar don’t do ordinary.”
Jain claimed that many customers had expressed discomfort with the word ‘Pak’ following recent tensions with Pakistan. This sentiment was reportedly intensified after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
Tyohaar Sweets is renowned for its specialty items, including delicacies adorned with gold and silver. These have now been renamed Swarn Shree and Chandi Shree respectively.
The re-branding sparked a range of responses on social media.
One Reddit user wrote: “Who’s going to tell them that ‘Pak’ in Mysore Pak, Moti Pak, Aam Pak, etc., originates from ‘paak’—a Kannada word meaning sweet or cooked, sharing roots with the Hindi ‘paag’ (sugar syrup)? The common root for both is the Sanskrit ‘pakka’, meaning cooked, ripe, or baked.”
Another commented: “This trend is driven 99% by WhatsApp forwards. And here we are—reason no. 34 why you shouldn’t graduate from WhatsApp University.”
A further comment read: “It’s just crowd-pulling. ‘Pak’ and ‘Paak’ are completely different.”
An X user posted: “This reflects the limited understanding of religion and culture in the country today. At this rate, terms like Paaka Kala could be mistaken for ‘the art of Pakistan’, and Paaka Shastra for ‘Pakistan’s scriptures’. An extraordinary level of absurdity is at play.”
Another user said: “Every day, the collective IQ of this country declines with stories like this.”
And one user sought to educate readers: “Did you know? Mysore Pak was first prepared in the royal kitchens of Mysore Palace by a cook named Kakasura Madappa during the reign of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV.”
Following India’s Operation Sindoor targeting terror camps in Pakistan, Karachi Bakery outlets in Telangana faced protests. Some groups called for a name change, arguing that Indian businesses should not carry names associated with Pakistani cities.
In response, the bakery owners displayed the Indian flag at their outlets and clarified that the bakery had been established in Hyderabad in 1953 by a migrant from Partition-era Karachi. The franchise has been Indian-owned for 73 years.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)