Is Mysore Pak anti-national?

 

As there is tension brewing between India and Pakistan, artistes and singers have already been banned from performing in India. People had even expressed their fear that the yummy royal-yellow coloured bar of sweet and goodness- Mysore Pak- might be banned due to its name. Faking news had even given an alternative name ‘Mysore Chak’ to prevent people from banning the sweet.

 

Now, to know why the work Pak was used as the suffix, one has to know an interesting story behind the origin of this sweet.

 

It was 1935, and Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar was the king of Mysore. Being a foodie, the king was an ardent lover of sweets. Every day the royal thali had to have a sweet item.

 

One fine day (the month and date are not mentioned in any record books so far) in 1935, it was nearly afternoon. The royal thali was being set for the king. The chief cook Madappa was in for a shock as he found no sweet item in the thali.

 

It was almost time for the king’s arrival. Madappa, who was an expert cook, took to his guts and just took three ingredients – sugar, ghee and ground flour- and prepared a wonderful sweet within no time.

 

Still, never had tried serving this sweet, Madappa took the thali to the king and stood there, waiting for his comments.

 

Seeing a different variety of a bar-like thing in the thali, the king decided to start his lunch with this interesting looking item.

 

He put it in his mouth and just couldn’t open his eyes till he had eaten it completely. The king immediately congratulated Madappa for making such a tasty sweet item and asked what its name was?

 

The stunned Madappa did not have any name for it, but at that moment he said, Mysore Pak. Since then, the king ordered the cooks to prepare this sweet regularly.

 

The sweet was prepared in Mysore, so it got its name Mysore, and Paaka means a sweet syrup. Over the years Mysuru Paaka was anglicised and named Mysore Pak.

 

So, it has absolutely no connection to Pakistan.