: The Forgotten Maharashtra Village That Gave Birth to Indias Favourite Candies #IndiaNEWS #Great Indian Manufacturing As a child, my family used to stay in Mumbai’s Kandivali area. One of my fondest

The Forgotten Maharashtra Village That Gave Birth to Indias Favourite Candies #IndiaNEWS #Great Indian Manufacturing
As a child, my family used to stay in Mumbai’s Kandivali area. One of my fondest memories from that time came thanks to a wheelchair-bound and speech-impaired uncle in his fifties. He would come out of his home in the evening for a normal stroll. But for us kids, he was no less than a magician who magically removed different types of colourful candies, made by Ravalgaon, from his pocket.
My friends and I would eagerly wait for our ‘pipper’ (candy in Gujarati) uncle so that we could gorge on the bright yellow and orange candies packed in translucent wrappers. For years, this blissful exchange of confectionaries and ‘thank you’ continued until we moved out.
A few months ago, I happened to visit the area once again and the first thought that came to me was of the ever-smiling uncle. Unfortunately, the uncle had passed away but his daughter generously invited me to their home.
In the middle of our conversation, she abruptly excused herself and a few seconds later, emerged with a plate full of those very same colourful candies. I was surprised and glad to see our pipper uncle had passed on the tradition.
Cherry and Pan Pasand
Our special bond lived on, all thanks to Walchand Hirachand Doshi, the visionary who started Ravalgaon in 1933.
Even after 80 odd years, Ravalgaon Sugar Farm Ltd remains to be one of those few swadeshi brands which is not just known for its quality but also for nostalgia.
Remember Pan Pasand, the paan flavoured mouth freshener that left a red stain on our tongues? Eating that sweet made us feel like adults as children are not supposed to have paan. Even Mango Mood, wrapped in shiny yellow and green wrapper, hit differently as we could savour the taste of mango all round the year.
Mango Mood
But did you know that company, that formed some of the most cherished memories for the 80s and 90s kids, was also responsible for converting a backward region of Maharashtra into a township? Or that it generated employment and revenue for thousands of villagers and farmers respectively?
The fascinating tale of Ravalgaon starts with the cliche ‘Once upon a time’ and it does have a happy and impactful journey.
It All Began With A Train Journey
Seth Walchand Hirachand Doshi
Walchand, who was born to a business family in Solapur, was already a known face when he set up Ravalgaon.
Hailed as ‘Father of the Indian Transportation Industry’ Walchand had his fingers in many pies, right from the Walchand Industries Limited (1908) that pioneered railway tunnels, to laying the foundation of India’s first swadeshi shipping company, the Scindia Shipyard (rechristened as Hindustan Shipyard Limited when it was nationalized), to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Premier Automobiles—India’s first indigenous automobile manufacturers.