Sweet Purohit

This year, Lord Ganesh will enjoy sugar-free modakas in Goan homes,thanks to Camp Purohit Sweets which is now catering to diabetics and healthconscious customers.   

For Joyce Menezes, proprietor of The Sweet Forest a franchisein Margoa, this is a logical step given the large number of such customersfrequenting their outlet.

Sachin Purohit, Chief Managing Director, Purohit Sweetsrevealed that the group had plans to open 10 outlets in the next few months.The group, based in Belgaum came into existence in 1952 and is present all overKarnataka. In Goa the  brand will beknown as The Sweet Forest.

“All Purohits in this sweet business hail from one family ofPurohits, that’s ours. We are approximately 500 in number spread acrossKarnataka, Maharashtra and Goa. We have no shop in Rajasthan, the state wemigrated from after independence” claims Sachin Keshavlal Purohit whosegrandfather Shankarlal Purohit migrated from Jalor in Rajasthan to Belgaum to workin a mithai shop.

“My grandfather worked in a mithai shop, Rahul Sweets, inBelgaum. He learnt the nuances of the trade and began making sweetsindependently and selling them on the streets in Camp area of Belgaum in 1952.He continued with his sons Babulal, Keshavlal and Gopilal. My father Keshavlaland uncle Babulal used to run on the railway platforms to sell Kunda while mygrandfather stood with bags of Kunda outside the railway station,” sharesSachin.

The first shop, Purohit sweets was opened in 1992 in the Camparea in Belgaum. Sachin said, people attached “Camp’ to it, forcing the familyto rename the company as Camp Purohit Sweets. The group has 10 outlets inKarnataka. The factory in Belgaum employs 90 Maharajas – Bengali, Bihari,Rajasthani and local.

“We accept bulk orders for parties, festivals and occasions”says Joyce and Shawn Menezes who are happy with the response from the Margaocustomers. “People are pouring in non-stop to buy sugar-free sweets and dryfruit mithai” says Shawn.