24-05-2025
‘Call It Mysore Pak': Inventor's great-grandson reacts as Jaipur shops rename iconic sweet
The great-grandson of the royal cook, who invented the famous Indian sweet Mysore Pak, has strongly objected to recent efforts to rename the delicacy, reported News18.
A descendant of Kakasura Madappa, who first made the sweet in the Mysore palace kitchen, S Nataraj said, as quoted by News18, 'Call it Mysore Pak—there can be no other name,' .
'Just like every monument or tradition has its rightful name, Mysore Pak does too. It shouldn't be altered or misrepresented,' the kin said.
'Pak' comes from the Kannada word Paaka, which means sugar syrup and since the sweet was made in Mysore, it became 'Mysore Pak,' thus, there is no 'reason to call it anything else", the kin of the royal cook explained.
The controversy erupted after at least three famous confectioneries in Rajasthan's Jaipur dropped 'Pak' from their entire range of offerings. Tyohaar Sweets, Bombay Misthan Bhandar, and Agarwal Caterers have renamed traditional sweets by replacing the word "Pak" with "Shree" as a mark of patriotism.
As part of the growing trend, Aam Pak has become Aam Shree, Gond Pak is now Gond Shree and the iconic Mysore Pak has been renamed Mysore Shree.
The move was triggered after the recent terror attack in Pahalgam and a military operation called Operation Sindoor against terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The change is part of a broader effort to avoid the word 'Pak,' seen by some as linked to Pakistan.
The owners said the move was a symbolic act of patriotism. "We want our sweets to show national pride," news agency PTI quoted Anjali Jain of Tyohaar Sweets as saying. 'It's not just about the name. After the attacks, we felt the need to express our feelings in our way,' she said.
Businessman Ramesh Bhatia told the agency, 'Changing sweet names may seem small, but it's a strong cultural message. It shows unity with our soldiers.'
'When I heard 'Mysore Shree' instead of 'Mysore Pak,' I smiled. It felt like a sweet tribute to our brave soldiers,' another resident added.
While some customers have welcomed the changes, calling them a show of support for Indian forces, many are against changing historic names.
Language experts say the word 'Pak' has Persian roots, meaning both 'sweetmeat' and 'pure.' In Hindi and Kannada, it refers to something that's cooked or prepared, especially using sugar.
Since 'Mysore Pak' and other sweets are made using sugar syrup, the original name is technically accurate.
