Winter is about to end. Suppose you are sitting beside the window with a cup of tea in your hand in the evening. Suddenly the sound of ‘Ghotigorom’ came to your ears. How will you feel? In the evening on every street, we hear this sound from hawkers. Who doesn’t love to eat hot ghotigorom? Chanachur, Jhuribhaja, Roasted Corn Chips, Roasted Peanuts, Salt, Onion Crush, Green Pepper Crush, Chaat Spice, Pepper Powder, Amchoor, Mustard Oil and a piece of raw mango or mango- all in all, this hot crispy food is like nectar. It’s fun to go out for a walk in the afternoon and eat it.
The awesome taste is hidden in the name ‘Ghotigorom’. Ghotigorom is very popular among food-loving Bengalis. Are you thinking about how the name ghotigorom came? In the old days, various methods were used to make delicious food. In the same way, chanachur was delicious but to make it more palatable, coal was burned in a pot and fire was prepared there. Chanachur was kept around that pot. Since then, the name of this dish has become ghotigorom.
Ghotigorom hawker is a familiar faces at school-college, bus stops, parks, fairs or any streets of the city. Hanging a tin box around his neck, wearing strange clothes, wearing a hooded head, dressed as a clown, the ghotigorom hawkers sell hot chanachur at the fair and sing songs. There are many types of clothing for these ghotigorom sellers. They come out with powder on their face and lipstick on their lips. The yellow and red dress is also quite bizarre. This dress helps to attract people’s attention, so they wear this. At the same time, the statement calling for eating chanachur is also interesting. It’s hard to ignore the light melodious call with a little pull.
The peddlers make the ghotigorom in a special way. The chanachur is put inside the tin and the firepot is placed in the middle of the chanachur. This technique is used to keep chanachur warm. They mix different hot ingredients in the container to make it special. Then they throw the pot into the sky. Then they grab the ghotigorom’s pot with different wheels as if he is catching a ball. The hot ghotigorom was made. In the end, they give it to everyone on a piece of paper. The main ingredient of this ghotigorom is thick jhuri bhaja and various ingredients are mixed with it. The ingredients include onion paste, mango paste, nuts, spices, etc.
Once upon a time when returning from office, Bengalis used to like this ghotigorom. Forgetting the fatigue of the whole day, this delicious thing brought the taste to the mouth. Although the cottage industry is valued, ghotigorom business is now neglected and unorganized. Many people start their careers by selling this chanachur but later they found a more lucrative business and left chanachur’s business. However, just by selling chanachur, some people have become popular in different areas. Gradually this profession is becoming extinct. Profits are low, labor is high, then the price of raw materials rises, everything is responsible for it.
The previous ghotigorom survived only by its name but there is no resemblance to the present ghotigorom. Even today, in the evening, the ears of the little boy sitting in the yard want to hear the sound of the ghotigorom. Maybe this profession will not last long; these will be stories for the next generation. People are packing things nowadays but all the packaging is cold near the ghotigorom. Even today she is open without the brand name. The food is about to be lost but not defeated.
