Chaulai Laddoo’s Importance at Badrinath Dham

57 year old Govind Singh Mehar, a resident of Chaka Motha village which is located in the Chamoli district of Devbhoomi, Uttarakhand. He is known for making delicious Chaulai Ladoo and Manduwa biscuits which has attained some well-deserved popularity in today’s world. Quickly the Ladoo attained immense popularity and is now being served as the main Prasad for numerous temples present in the region including one of the prime pilgrimage shrine of Badrinath Dham.

Mr. Govind Singh started making Manduwa biscuits and Chaulai Laddoo since the year 1988 and since then his sweet delicacies have gained some valuable importance in the religious sites which dot the entire region. One of the main reasons for this Laddoo’s popularity is the fact that they are sugar free. When he started making these sweets people immensely enjoyed the taste and quickly became extremely popular among the local citizens. His Laddoos and biscuits creation also generated some employment in the region when people decided to help him in creating them. With the help of HESCO institute in 2006, Mr. Govind initiated the Chaulai Laddoo’s offering in Badrinath Dham Mandir. He became a master trainer and over 150 women from nearby villages of Joshimath, Merag, Ganeshpur, Bamani, Paini etc. were also well trained in the making of this Chaulai Laddoo as well as Manduwa biscuits.

The Relevance of Chaulai Laddoo in Badrinath Dham Mandir
initially, the Prasad that was served in the temples were created using wheat flour, Manduwa and Chaulai. However over a period of time it was replaced by gram dal, mishri, cashew and kismis as Prasad. Then Mr. Govind Singh’s initiative once again introduced the healthy and sugar free substitute to the famous Badrinath Dham.

Last year, women who were trained by Mr. Govind Singh ji earned almost 19 lakh rupees by selling chaulai laddoo and Manduva biscuits as Prasad. Presently the monthly incomes of these women are more than 10,000 rupees and with the gradual increase of for demand of this particular sweet product, people are paying extra and special attention toward the cultivation and harvesting of Chaulai and Manduva in the region.

Information about Chaulai Laddoo and Manduwa biscuits

As explained by Mr. Govind Singh the Chaulai Laddoo and Manduwa Prasad are made available in packs of 51 dor 101 rupees. Presently, these special Laddoo are being served to the devotees in the form of Prasad at various temples like, Badrinath Mandir, Mansa Devi Mandir, Har ki Pauri and Chandi Devi Mandir, Purnagiri Mandir and Golu Devta Mandir. The packet of Laddoos and biscuits carry a picture of Badri – Kedar dham on top. The demand for these Laddoos is increasing at a substantial rate for its unique quality of being sugar free.

Mansa Devi Mandir which is situated in Haridwar serves Prasad which is made from Chaulai, kuttu, ghee along with meva. Currently, 10 women from Ruhalki village situated in Bahadarbad who belong to a self-help group remain busy in preparing Chaulai offerings for the Mandir and this activity makes them earn up to rupees 500 per day.

Prime Minister Modi applauds the efforts

Prime Minister Modi recently in the talk show ‘Mann Ki Baat’, applauded the creation of Manduwa biscuits and Chaulai Laddoo which are taking place in Munaargaon (Bageshwar) of Kapkot block. He mentioned that the ingredients of this Laddoo and biscuit Prasads are extremely beneficial to the health. As a result of this these Prasad have received immense recognition all across the country. Even in the small hill town of Munaargaon, in the year 2017, 965 women were professionally trained by Mr. Govind Singh ji to create his delicious biscuits from other available local products like Manduwa.