Sweet lovers in the city can now grab Joynagar’s ‘moa’ or ‘makha sandesh’ in the heart of Kolkata. A stall at Sealdah station under the railway’s ‘one station one product’ scheme is offering GI tagged delicacies of Joynagar saving the buyers from the hassles of travelling.

This delectable treat, which is native to Jaynagar, has been included in the range of products offered at OSOP stalls within Sealdah station with an aim by the divisional railway to provide passengers with a wider variety of local products but also to empower small-scale vendors and promote the rich cultural heritage of the region.

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From a few kilograms in its initial days to around 50 kg at present, the stall selling the popular Joynagar moa has travelled a long journey in a very short span of around one month. According to Debojit Dasgupta, the person running the stall in the south section of Sealdah station, the demand has witnessed a burgeoning rise in a few weeks. “The sweets generally reach the shop at around 10 am or even 11 am are all sold off by 6 pm,” said Debojit, the man who works extensively for bringing the Joynagar moa to the station. “When we started, the sale was hardly a few kilograms. Now the sale per day is around 40 to 50 kg. The demand is so high that we are unable to cater to all the buyers asking for moa,” he added.

The reason behind the popularity, as claimed by Debojit, is the quality of raw materials used in the making of moa supplied by the famous Shyam Sunder Mistanna Bhandar, the owners of which are known as a craftsman in the art of moa making in Joynagar. From the ‘kheer’ (milk cake) to dry fruits and ghee, everything used in making the sweets is prepared with particular care about quality. The process of making the moa available at the OSOP counter at Sealdah station from Joynagar which is more than 50 kilometers is a herculean task in itself. The process involves round-the-clock efforts by the people behind the OSOP counter. While the sweets are prepared as early as 5 am, the transportation process takes another four to five hours. On reaching the counter, the sweet is sold off in another five to six hours by 6 pm, according to the present stall operators.