Ranchi: In Jharkhand, if you pass through the GT Road (Grand Trunk Road) built by Sher Shah Suri, the ruler of medieval India in the 16th century, and end up at Chauparan in Hazaribagh district, you will continue your journey without tasting the special sweets here. Can’t increase. In today’s date, this special sweet of Chauparan, situated on the side of GT Road, has become so famous in the country that queues of vehicles are set up on the side of GT Road in Chauparan to buy it. The biggest thing is that today Chauparan is famous all over India including Jharkhand because of this special sweet and almost every buses and vehicles passing through GT Road stop here to buy it. Even many companies, government departments and other institutions organize meetings in Chauparan for their officials to taste this sweet. Do you know, what is the name of this special sweet of Chauparan? Its name is ‘Khirmohan’.
Where is Chauparan located on GT Road
Significantly, starting from Sonagaon in Bangladesh, the GT Road leading to Peshawar and Sindh province of Pakistan-Afghanistan was built by Chandragupta Maurya, the Maurya ruler of Magadha Empire in medieval India. At that time it was called Uttarapatha. In the 16th century, Sher Shah Suri, the Sultan of Delhi, made this Uttarapath paved. In the time of Sher Shah Suri, this road was also known as ‘Sadke-e-Azam’ or ‘Emperor’s Road’, because it starts from Bengal and goes to Afghanistan via Peshawar, about 2500 km away. This road in India Howrah, Bardhaman, Panagarh, Durgapur, Asansol, Dhanbad, Aurangabad, Dehri on Sone, Sasaram, Mohania, Mughalsarai, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Kalyanpur, Kannauj, Etah, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Delhi, Panipat, Karnal, Passes through Ambala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. Chauparan is situated after Barhi and before Barachatti on this road passing through Dhanbad to Dobhi in Jharkhand. Chauparan is situated in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand and is the border area of Bihar-Jharkhand.
What is the history of ‘Khirmohan’
The history of ‘Khirmohan’ sweets of Chauparan situated on the side of GT Road starting from Dhanbad in Jharkhand is very old, like the GT Road of Shershah Suri. Local shopkeepers tell that ‘Khirmohan’ sweets are being made and sold on the side of GT Road in Chauparan from about 90-91 years ago. It was first started in the year 1930 by Vishnu Yadav, a resident of Chauparan. Even today Vishnu Yadav’s grandson makes and sells ‘Khirmohan’ on the side of GT Road in Chauparan.
Khirmohan sweets are surviving for three generations
Let us also tell you that Vishnu Khirmohan is the oldest shop of ‘Khirmohan’ in Chauparan. Vishnu Yadav, a resident of Chauparan, started making and selling ‘Khirmohan’ from the year 1932. We spoke to his grandson Satyendra Yadav. During the conversation, Satyendra Yadav told that in the year 1932, our grandfather Vishnu Yadav started selling ‘Khirmohan’ on the side of GT Road. At that time the population of Chauparan was less, but vehicles used to come and go from different states of the country. He told that the vehicles which used to pass through the GT Road, the passengers sitting in them or the drivers used to buy the sweets made by grandfather and take them to their children and relatives. When he used to like this sweet, he would have stopped and bought this sweet from our grandfather’s shop if he passed through this road again. He told that after our grandfather, our father also maintained this tradition and my father also sold ‘Khirmohan’. Today I am the third generation, who both make and sell it.
How did the promotion
Satyendra Yadav, grandson of Vishnu Yadav, who invented ‘Khirmohan’, a special sweet of Chauparan in Jharkhand, says that in Dada’s time, people who used to buy ‘Khirmohan’ from his shop, would get it orally in their village or from family members. Used to tell its specialty. Secondly, the vehicles that used to pass through the GT Road used to spread its propaganda even to the people riding in it. He said that in a way you can say that our sweet was promoted through trucks, buses and other vehicles going from Bengal to Peshawar and as a result of this the vehicles that pass through GT Road today, The passenger riding in it definitely buys ‘Khirmohan’ of Chauparan and takes it to his home. Satyendra further explains that today people from many states including Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi, UP, Haryana, Punjab etc buy ‘Khirmohan’ from Chauparan.
How to make ‘Khirmohan’
When ‘Khirmohan’ is so tasty and delicious to eat, then how is it made? In response to this question, Vishnu Yadav’s grandson Satyendra Yadav told that there is a special process to make ‘Khirmohan’. It is mainly made from curdled milk, but the process adopted while making it makes it special and delicious. He told that there are two types of ‘Khirmohan’ sweets. One is made in sugar syrup and the other is made from jaggery. Both types of ‘Khirmohan’ are made from curd of milk. The process of making it is such that both types of ‘Khirmohan’ blossom. Its specialty is that ‘Khirmohan’ is shaped like a rasgulla or gulab jamun and has a sweet taste. Chauparan’s ‘Khirmohan’ is famous only because of its sweetness and delicious taste.
Can also experiment with Revdi
Satyendra Yadav says that you can eat Khirmohan with Revdi as well. This changes both the sweetness and taste of Khirmohan. He told that often, people who come here, along with eating Khirmohan, take kilos to their homes and also tell the people of their neighborhood. People who are not familiar with this Khirmohan also come to know about it and whenever they pass through Chauparan on GT Road, they definitely buy it.
what is the price
Now that you have come to know so much about Khirmohan of Chauparan, then this curiosity must be arising in your mind as to what is its value. So let us tell you that Khirmohan sweets are available in Chauparan from Rs.260 to Rs.400 per kg. In this, the price of Khirmohan with sugar syrup ranges from Rs 260 to Rs 300. Apart from this, those who buy Khirmohan made from jaggery have to pay Rs 350 to 400 for it. The biggest thing is that despite being cooked in jaggery and sugar syrup, Khirmohan is so light that at least 30-40 pieces go up in one kilo of weight. That’s why in one kilo of sweets, almost the whole family tastes it and when the neighbors come, they also taste it.
Special order is given for wedding ceremony
Sanjay Yadav, another shopkeeper who sells ‘Khirmohan’ sweets, told that this special sweet of Chauparan is so famous that special orders are placed for weddings. He said that apart from the districts around Jharkhand for marriage, we go to Bengal, Bihar and UP to make ‘Khirmohan’ in marriage ceremonies. He told that not only this, due to the specialty of this sweet, marriage ceremonies, meetings of various departments and companies are also organized in Chauparan. Along with this, people also come here for picnics, because there is a dense forest along the GT Road, which also makes a better picnic spot. This is the reason why today this Chauparan of our Jharkhand is famous all over the country because of Khirmohan.