Brown Sweet

Homemade mysore pak, 11 Jun. 2011, by Abhinav Iyer.

by Abhinav Iyer

When your mom forces you to take a silent timeout in the laundry room, what’s the one treat you would want your grandma to bring you when she breaks you out? For me, it was mysore pak. I grew up obsessed with those lush, square sweets; I craved the feeling of biting through the crystalline sugar as I felt little crumbs of pure sweetness dribble from my mouth. I would always look down at those bits, noticing their bright brown color camouflaging with that of my own palms. So, I gave mysore pak my own little nickname: "brown sweet."

Like its taste, the sweet is also ‘rich’ in its history. It was created in the city of Mysore, which is said to be the cultural capital of Karnataka, a state of India (Shankar & Swamy). As the legend goes, there was a day where Kaksura Madappa, the head chef for Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar, had forgotten to prepare dessert for the king’s lunchtime meal. As a last-ditch effort, he added ghee, gram flour, and sugar together to create a syrup, which solidified into a fudge-like consistency. The king relished its taste and wished to know the luscious dessert’s name; the bewildered chef blurted out “mysore pak,” meaning Mysore concoction (Shankar).

Mysore Wedding Celebration and Pooja, 24 Nov. 2022, by Abhinav Iyer.

A century later, the sweet is considered the "king of Indian sweets" and one of the most important Indian desserts (Shankar & Swamy). Popularized due to its sweet taste and crumbly texture, the treat is now an integral part of South Indian weddings, baby showers, and other festivities. While it is served to guests of such events, it is also a very popular gift during times of celebration. Mysore pak is also a big part of religious culture in India; for some households and regions, it is very auspicious to make mysore pak on Hindu holidays and is “also offered as prasad (offering) in temples” (Garg).

Of course, my first time trying “brown sweet,” I wasn’t old enough to understand any of the history. I simply knew it was made by my grandma, my thathi; it’s why every time I have it, I can’t help but think of her. It reminds me of her incredibly loving nature—how she would give me a bite after I butchered a math problem, or how she would cheer me on as I played a carrom board with my thatha (grandpa) all while she was making the winner’s tasty reward. Those experiences impacted me so much due to my lack of command over Tamil, the language spoken by my family. I can understand most words, but I’ve always felt terrible due to my inability to communicate well with my grandparents, since they can’t speak English all too well. So, when I eat the sweets of my thathi, I feel like I’m communicating with her, expressing to her my gratitude in a way we both can understand.

Thathi and Thatha at their home in India, 13 Dec. 2018, by Abhinav Iyer

It’s amazing how much I’ve learned simply by sitting down, eating mysore pak, and listening to Thathi and Thatha. I truly believe their relationship is perfect; they can talk for 10 hours straight, never getting bored of each other. As retirees in India, that’s what they do most of the day anyways. So, whenever I see them talking, I often sit down with a bowl of "brown sweet" and listen. Just watching them gave me an idea of how I would want my future relationships to look, how I would want my life to look.

Being saved from my timeouts by my thathi with some fresh "brown sweet" in hand, that was Heaven-on-Earth. The dessert connects me with my heritage—it reminds me of how I can still be Indian without living in India. Moreover, it connects me with my family; my thathi and thatha will forever be in my mind as I take a bite of those brown squares I love so much.

Works Cited

Garg, Mayur. “The Sweet Story of Mysore Pak: A Journey of Taste and Tradition.” Asha Sweet Center, 6 May 2023, ashasweetcenter.com/blogs/blog/the-sweet-story-of-mysore-pak-a-journey-of-taste-and-tradition.

Iyer, Abhinav. Mysore culture. 24 Nov. 2022. Author's personal collection

Iyer, Abhinav. Mysore Pak. 11 Jun. 2011. Author's personal collection

Iyer, Abhinav. Thathi and Thatha. 13 Dec. 2018. Author's personal collection

Shankar, B., and Swamy, Chidambara. "Architecture and heritage resources of Mysore City." International Journal of Modern Engineering Research 2 (2012): 139-43.

Shankar, Kartikeya. “The Legend of Mysore Pak.” The Times of India, TOI, 17 July 2021, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/the-legend-of-mysore-pak/articleshow/77207003.cms.

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