Lonavla Hill Station and Chikki - A Food Tale
Dreamy, beautiful, scenic, panoramic are the perfect words that describe this mesmerizing hill station called Lonavla, situated in the Western Ghats Sahyadri hill range, Maharashtra. It connects Pune and Mumbai through a railway line and the Mumbai-Pune expressway.
Apart from magnificent luscious green views, it is very popular for sweet hard candy made out of jaggery and peanuts called "chikki"
A trip to Mumbai or Pune is incomplete without a halt in Lonavla to buy the iconic Maganlal Chikki.
Tasting and buying various varieties of Chikkis and Fudges from Maganala Chikki shop, munching them along with admiring the beauty of Lonavla and Khandala the twin Ghats is my absolute favorite part.
There are many Mganalal Chikki shops in Lonavala and one may get confused which is the original one. But the original Maganla Chikki Shop is only 2 minutes away from the station and exactly opposite to Dr. Kammath's clinic.
Keep reading through to know how Mr. Behwarjji Aggarwal paved his way through a simple idea and turned it into a huge opportunity.
Don't wait for the opportunity, create them.
And that's what Late Shri. Behwarjji Agarwal did.
In the year, 1880 he opened his small shop nearby Lonavala railway station along with his two sons, one of them was Maganlal Agarwal.
Initially, they sold "Gur-Dhani" that is roasted peanuts and jaggery as a snack for the travelers but later he realized and observed that the train halted only for a few minutes and travelers wanted something handy, affordable, easy to eat and carry during their journey, and this time he prepared a snack with local ingredients using peanuts, ghee, and jaggery and named it Chikki, as he wanted a name that even a child can call out and remember. Later the son Maganlal introduced other varieties of chikki and with time-bound, this convenient snack became very popular and started traveling around the world.
This snack became popular among workers working around the ghats.
The Chikki is so well known that today it is a metaphor used for Lonavala hill station.
Granola bars and candies are cool but Chikki hits different.
Today the Maganlal Chikki shop is run by the fourth generation and flourishing all around the world. 26 different flavors of chikkis, fudges, and savories are available. When you happen to visit Lonavala or Pune - Mumbai do not forget to try out this lovely hard peanut jaggery candy called Chikki.
This was the tale of recognizing an opportunity and creating the legacy out of it.
Lessons from this Tale:-
Look around opportunities are in abundance
Sometimes small simple and smart ideas work wonders
Business is not only about profits but about that one product which leaves a mark on consumers and solving simple problems.
The quicker you adapt to the change the more perks you gain.
I hope you enjoyed reading and got something valuable from this tale.
This tale is the point of a business student and a chef.
Thank you for reading.
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Such a sweet tale and the chikki as well😋❤
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