Hyderabad: Dhoolpet is known for its Lodhi Kshatriya community, ganesh idols and manja. However, the place assumes a different look once Raksha Bandhan sets in.
During this time, around 60 shops come up in the neighbourhood to offer lip-smacking laddus. A sweet fragrance wafts through the streets of Dhoolpet during Raksha Bandhan, when families engage in preparing and selling laddus, made with sugar, gram flour and other ingredients.
Thanks to the local tradition, the market for sweets is increasing every year with more and more people jumping onto the seasonal trade bandwagon. P. Haridwar Singh, president of the Lodh Kshatriya Samaj Telangana, said that there are certain local traditions in the community due to which laddus are in demand during Raksha Bandhan.
“In the first year of marriage, when a woman goes to her brother’s place she carries several kilograms of laddus with her. In fact, even cousin brothers are gifted sweets along with Rakhi and other articles. A few families buy up to 100 kilograms of laddus,” observed Mr Singh.
The laddus here vary from half kg to five kg in weight. “Usually, people buy laddus weighing half kg. However, there are a few, who opt for bigger ones,” said Mr Singh, whose family is into laddu-making business since three decades.
“Our ancestors practised it and now we are doing it. At the end of three-day season, we earn good money,” said Mr P. Narendra Singh, a relative of Manohar Singh. People from far-off areas also come to Dhoolpet to buy sweets to give away as gifts to their relatives, said another shopkeeper.
