'Mysore Pak' now 'Mysore Shree': Jaipur shops drop 'Pak' tag from sweets

Jaipur sweet shops rename traditional sweets, like dropping 'Pak' from popular sweet 'Mysore Pak' and adopting alternatives such as 'Shree' and 'Bharat' amid tension with Pakistan

In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and India's subsequent military action under “Operation Sindoor", several iconic sweet shops in Jaipur have undertaken a symbolic rebranding of their traditional sweets. Popular confections that traditionally carried the suffix “Pak” have been renamed with alternatives such as “Shree” or “Bharat,” reflecting a surge of national pride and solidarity.

 

At Jaipur’s well-known Tyohaar Sweets, proprietor Anjali Jain spearheaded the initiative to remove “Pak” from sweet names, replacing it with culturally resonant terms. “The spirit of patriotism shouldn't just reside at the border but in every Indian home and heart,” Jain told news agency PTI.

 

Among the sweets renamed are popular varieties like:

 

-Mysore Pak → Mysore Shree

-Aam Pak → Aam Shree

-Gond Pak → Gond Shree

-Swarn Bhasm Pak → Swarn Shree

-Chandi Bhasm Pak → Chandi Shree

-Moti Pak → Moti Shree

 

The shop’s offerings, which number over 125 varieties, have long been a staple in Jaipur’s festive culinary scene, and this swift rebranding illustrates how deeply current events can shape even traditional businesses.

 

A citywide trend of culinary rebranding

 

Tyohaar Sweets is not alone in showcasing this patriotic gesture. Other renowned establishments, including the decades-old Bombay Misthan Bhandar and Agarwal Caterers, have also dropped “Pak” from their sweet names. Vineet Trikha, general manager of Bombay Misthan Bhandar, described the renaming as a “sweet, symbolic retaliation,” saying, “We wanted to send a clear message — those who dare raise their eyes against India will have their names erased, and every Indian will respond in their own way.” 

 

Businessman Ramesh Bhatia echoed this sentiment, calling the gesture “a powerful cultural response” that signals unity from the battlefield to civilian life, PTI reported. “Changing the names of sweets may seem small, but it’s a powerful cultural response,” he said. Retired teacher Pushpa Kaushik added, “This initiative feels like a sweet salute to our soldiers — simple, symbolic, and heartfelt.”

 

Linguistic irony: ‘Pak’ has deep Indian roots

 

Despite the patriotic fervour, linguists have pointed out an ironic twist. The suffix “Pak” in these sweets has no connection with Pakistan. Instead, it stems from ancient Indian culinary vocabulary. Times Now reported Abhishek Avtans, a linguist at Leiden University, as saying, “Pak is from ‘paka,’ a Kannada word meaning sweet condiment. It shares the same root as Hindi ‘pag’ (sugar syrup), both deriving from Sanskrit ‘pakva’ meaning cooked or ripe.”

 

Mysore Pak, for example, originates from the royal kitchens of the Mysore palace in Karnataka, created by chef Kakasura Madappa during the reign of King Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV. The sweet’s name commemorates its city of origin and its signature sticky sugar syrup that binds the ingredients, rather than any political association.

 

Karachi Bakery outlet in Hyderabad attacked

 

Earlier this month, a Hyderabad outlet of the 73-year-old Karachi Bakery came under attack days after renewed criticism over its name surfaced during heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. According to PTI, around 10 to 15 individuals assembled outside the bakery, chanting "anti-Pakistan slogans".   

 

  Rajesh and Harish Ramnani, owners of the bakery, told PTI that Karachi Bakery is a “100 per cent Indian brand”, established by their grandfather Khanchand Ramnani in 1953 after migrating to India during the partition.

 

“We request Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and senior officers of administration to support to prevent any change in the name. People are putting up tricolour in the outlets of the bakery across the city. Kindly support us as we are an Indian brand and not a Pakistani brand,” they told PTI.

 

This is not the first time the bakery has come under fire. In 2019, following the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel, a group had stormed the Bengaluru Indiranagar outlet demanding a change in its name.

 

(With agency inputs)