O - THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2002

THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2002

The baker in our neighbourhood was a friend of our family. His bakery
was so close to our house, that, we the children of our family would go
now and then whenever we had spare time in our hands. It was the
nostalgic baking smell, or to say the bakery smell, that attracted us
the most.

The bakery was not a big one. A few furlongs walk down the lane from
our house, came the right bend, and a couple of steps further and there
stood the gate of Hussain's Bakery. Hussain Chacha, as we called him
had never put any restrictions on our entry into his bakery.

At Hussain's Bakery, one could get buns of two different varieties,
bread, and a variety of biscuits some sweet tasting and some salty
ones. Cakes were available 'only by order'. Hussain Chacha gave us
biscuits and buns when we went there. But we did not like them very
much and did not show this before him for we could not afford to hurt
him and make him sad.

In one part of the bakery, on a huge wooden table Hussain Chacha's
workers could be found sweating and toiling hard to make the dough for
the different items. Another set of men would be greasing the baking
tray and placing the shapely cut dough systematically so that they
could be put into the hot kiln to come out as the finished good, ready
for sale in the market.

Hussain Chacha sold his biscuits, buns, breads and sometimes very
ordinary cheap cakes to the nearby tea-stalls and even people came from
some rural areas to buy from his bakery for they were in demand
there.

For our family Hussain's Bakery came for use when cakes were made in
our house in large quantities. Hussain Chacha would be informed earlier
about this baking. He would give us the time because the kiln needed to
have the appropriate temperature for baking cakes. With utmost care Mom
would mix the batter and place those on greased baking trays and send
them to the bakery, very timely of course. During this time ______ the
time the batter reached the bakery and the completion of the baking
_______ we would make frequent visits to find out when we could get
back the cake and eat it of course after Mom gave us our share.

The heating of the kiln was a very interesting thing. The men would
place a large number of logs through the opening, light a fire and let
the wood burn until the embers died. By that time the walls of the kiln
would absorb the heat, which would then work as wonders in baking.
Different temperatures of heat were used for baking different items.
The cake needed maximum heat and thus when the kiln was heated,
Chacha's bakery baked our cake first. At home Mom would cut the cake
into slices and we got the taste of it. At times we fought amongst each
other when we felt a slice was thicker for my sis or brother than
mine.

These days' small bakeries rarely exist. But Hussain Chacha's bakery
still stands at the same place, supplying his biscuits, buns, breads
and cakes to the tea-stalls. His quality has improved and so also his
packing. Hussain Chacha has handed over the supervision charge to his
son and daughter-in-law and they are running in profit.