Bhagatram 'halwaii' holds its own in Bangalore

In the bustling lanes of Commercial Street, where shop owners are busy thinking of ways of renovating to keep up with the changing taste of customers, there is probably one shop which is an exception, and has refused to be part of this race—Bhagatram.

“Constant” is what defines Bangalore’s earliest sweetmeat shops. From the location, the staff to the appearance of the outlet, Bhagatram’s has seen little or no change. Perhaps the only difference between its humble beginning in 1948 and now is the ever-growing number of loyal customers the chain is attracting.

Bhagatram, hailing from Delhi, first moved to Mumbai, and then to Chennai before settling down in Bangalore. “My grandfather had 10 mithai shops in Delhi at the time, so my father thought he should also do something on his own. That’s when he moved out of Delhi. The greenery and freshness of Bangalore attracted him to the city,” says BR Giridhar. He joined the business in 1972.

The first outlet was opened on Commercial Street in 1948, right next to the premises on which it stands today, at a time when the area was “pretty much a jungle with no proper road or electricity. My parents worked very hard initially,” he adds. Bhagatram started out with specialising in three items—its piece de resistance, the gulabjamun, samosa, and jalebi.

“To get customers initially, my father would offer free samples of our gulabjamuns. Once people knew the quality of our products, there was no looking back for us.” In fact, it was Bhagatram that introduced Bangaloreans to the popular snack, samosa.

Bangalore’s famous halwaii has come a long way since it first opened its doors to city folks. Bhagatram caters to about 4,000 customers on a daily basis at its Commercial Street branch alone.

“Earlier, we used to sell about 300 gulabjamuns a day, now it is in the range of 6,000. On festivals, our demand shoots up incredibly.

One Diwali we even touched the 50,000 mark!” Giridhar shares with pride.

Revolving door
Undoubtedly, the chain is doing roaring business. On any given day, one can find a steady flow of customers pottering in and out of the shop, some for the famous gulabjamuns, others for a quick snack of chhole-bhature or maddur vada. Giridhar, who has introduced about 150 varieties to the portfolio, says he plans to introduce another 100 variants in the days to come. Bhagatram’s fans have more to cheer.

Not only is the snack joint opening three new branches (at Ulsoor, Brigade Road and Jayanagar) in the next two months, but also introducing a range of meals. “To start off with, we will start serving Gujarati, North Indian and South Indian thalis. And in due course, my plan is to serve all types of Indian food here for my customers.”
However, Giridhar is quick to confess, 90% of the items on their menu today, were created by his father. “Most of the recipes are what my father passed on to me. The rest I have created on my own.”

They might have been among the first sweetmeat shops in the city, although since the 1940s a sizeable crop of new chains has popped up at every corner of Bangalore. How does Bhagatram still manage to retain its position in the market, we ask.

“To this day, we follow the same principle my father started business with—that of love. The reason our sweets are so popular is that we put a whole lot of love and care into everything we make, and customers appreciate our sincerity.”

He opines that there is room for everyone. “Each mithai chain has its own customer base, its own specialities. We are confident in our product, and being among the earliest entrants gives us an edge.”

Keeping the tradition alive, Giridhar is confident that like him, his sons too will also join the successful family business, though both are still young—aged 11 and 13 years.

“I will train them the way my father trained me.” Until then, Giridhar and his wife are the dynamic leaders who run the business.

“I go to all our outlets at different times of the day, once all the items are prepared, to keep track of the finances and ensure smooth running,” says Giridhar, who spends most of his day at the main outlet on Commercial street along with his wife.

Bhagatram’s culinary preparations start at the crack of dawn, as early as 5am every day and go on until noon, on busy days even
till 3pm.

But the hard work isn’t in vain, as items fly off the counters throughout the day. “About 90% of the items are cleared from the shelves by evening, so there is no question of wastage or serving stale food. We prepare fresh stock every day.”

On a daily basis, the items are made here and then sent to the respective outlets at Malleswaram and Avenue Road, to ensure quality.

Riding high on success, Giridhar has more brewing in the pipeline. The chain plans to introduce gulabjamuns packaged in tins. “We want to be able to supply our jamuns to customers in every corner of the country. We are also looking at exporting them.”