Jaipur sweet shops drop ‘Pak' from product names, rename Mysore Pak to Mysore Shree; Indian linguist says ‘Pak means…'
In a curious case of culinary nationalism, sweet shop owners in Jaipur are rebranding traditional Indian sweets that include the word 'Pak', fearing it sounds too similar to 'Pakistan'.
In solidarity with Operation Sindoor, the recent military strikes on terror camps across the border, local vendors have started renaming classics like Mysore Pak, Moti Pak, Aam Pak and Gond Pak. The vendors are replacing it with the word 'Shree'. So now, customers will be offered Mysore Shree, Moti Shree, Aam Shree and Gond Shree instead.
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The move quickly went viral, sparking both ridicule and linguistic corrections online. Linguist and lecturer Abhishek Avtans pointed out the irony of it all. 'Who is going to tell them that pāk in Mysore Pak, Moti Pak, Aam Pak etc. is from pāka, a Kannada word which means 'sweet condiment'… The shared root for both words is Sanskrit pakvá (cooked, ripe, baked),' he wrote on X.
Who is going to tell them that पाक pāk in Mysore Pak, Moti Pak, Aam Pak etc. is from pāka ಪಾಕ, a Kannada word which means 'sweet condiment' and it shares the same root as Hindi pāg पाग (sugar syrup)? The shared root for both words is Sanskrit पक्व pakvá (cooked, ripe, baked). https://t.co/vqJQnuWXUj
— Abhishek Avtans अभिषेक अवतंस 🌐 (@avtansa) May 22, 2025
Social media, predictably, had a field day. One user said, 'So now we gonna call (pakshi) as (shreeshi).' Another wrote, 'The stupidest thing I read today.' A third commented, 'Kya ho raha hai bhai iss desh mein? (What is happening in this country).'
One user likened the move to workplace theatrics: 'Me doing something to show my manager I did something (atleast),' and another one said, 'I love reading first world problems disguised as news omg.'
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