Kashmiri Kandur: Kashmiri's eternal love for bakers

A kashmiri Kandur is a conventional bread maker who bakes various variety of breads in a clay tandoor oven. There is an intrinsic connection between Kandur and Kashmiri culture. Kandurs are spread throughout the length and breadth of the valley. They make use  clay tandoor and burn fire of woods to bake variety of breads. The shops of Kandur are called Kandurwan. The kandurwans are not only just the shops which sell variety of breads but it is social place where people assemble and discuss current news and social issues. It can be said to be a social place for gossips and conversations as well as interactions. There is a great cultural significance of Kandru’s in kashmiri culture and identity. Kashmiris start their day by morning tea especially none chai with which they eat Lavas, Girda, Teelworu etc. With the militancy and migration of the Kashmiri Pandits to Jammu and other places, the Kashmiri Kandur-the bread makers have also set up their Tandoor in various parts of Jammu where Kashmiri Pandits are temporarily settled. 

Kashmiri Kandurs are not limited to the valley of Kashmir alone; these shops can be found in Delhi, Faridabad, Gaziabad, Bangalore and Pune, where Kashmiri Pandits have settled in significant numbers, keeping the tradition of Kashmiri bread-making alive." These Kashmiri Kandur’s are the people from Kishtwar, Bhadarwah and Ramnagar Udhampur and these people the bread makers who prepare traditional kashmiri bread-roti eke their living from this occupation and the Kashmiri Pandits are facilitated as they can purchase Kashmiri bread from these Kandurs. These Kashmiri Kandur’s prepare various nanwahi of bread such as tchot, Tailwoor, Takhtach, Bakirkhani, Lawasa, Shreemal,  Roat and these types of rotis have good market and Kashmiri Pandits purchase these varieties and cherish these breads prepared by Kashmiri Kandur’s or bread makers. In common and routine day to day Kashmiri Pandits purchase Lawasas and tchot for eating with the morning Nun chai and take great pleasure. 

During the festive season and especially during Maha Shivratri which Kashmiri Pandits celebrate in a distinct and unique way for a fortnight there is much demand of Lawasas and on this occasion there remains much rush at the Kandur shops. During Shivratri Kashmiri Pandits book orders for Lawasas with the Kandur’s .It is the custom with Kashmiri Pandits that after Vatak Parmushun, they distribute the wet walnuts with Rotis made of rice atta and Lawasas to friends, neighbours, relatives and especially walnut with Lawasas are sent to the in-laws of daughters and thus there remains much rush of the kashmiri Pandits at the shops of breadmakers called in Kashmiri parlance Kaundru shops. It is believed and said that once in the early times Smt. Laleshouri also called Lal Ded was roaming naked but her belly covers her private parts. She saw a perfect soul saint Nund Rush also called Shiekh-ul-Alam coming in her way and she jumped into tandoor of a  nanwahi a kandru and hide herself and blessed bread-makers and so there remains rush of the customers always and its owners earn much needed money and livelihood. 

Therefore all Kandur’s hung the picture of Lal ded to the walls of their shop and it is seen from a distance. During winters it is often that some elderly Kashmiri Pandits and elderly women take their kangri-fire pot with them to the shops of Kandur’s and the bread makers joyously put some burning charcoal in the kangris and the Kashmiri pandits/KP women take it to home and warm themselves in the shivering cold of December and January. Generally it are the poor people from Kishtwar, Bhaderwah and Ramnagar Udhampur who are expert cooks and adept in making breads of various varieties. So they have set up Kandru shops at many places in Jammu and Udhampur and they eke out a honest living from their profession of  breads. It is very often that these bread makers are good cooks and caterers and they are expert in preparing  vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisines.So Kashmiri Pandits hire these kaudr’s for cooling purposes in their parties and weddings and so they earn a good money from preparing a variety of dishes in weddings. We often see these bread makers preparing kashmiri Wazwans during their sons and daughters weddings. Without them we would have faced much inconvenience and difficulty. 

Moreover, the act of purchasing bread itself has become a ritual. In some families, it’s the father’s sacred duty, often performed with the seriousness of a military operation. Returning with misshapen tchut or worse, a bread count too low, can lead to a domestic inquisition that rivals an episode of Sherlock Holmes: Kashmir.  For all his flour-dusted humility, the Kandur is a silent philosopher. He observes life from his smoky perch, privy to the intimate details of his customers’ lives. He knows who’s planning a wedding, who’s having an early-morning squabble, and who’s nursing a sleep hangover that only noon chai and fresh girda can cure. Yet, despite his central role, Kandur remains an enigma. He doesn’t seek fame or fortune; his mission is simple: to keep the fires burning and the tchut flowing. So, here’s to the Kashmiri Kandur, the unsung hero of our mornings and the guardian of our carbs. He may not wield a sword or pen, but his spatula is mightier, for it feeds not just our stomachs but our souls.

KP’s have good liaison with these kandur’s and it becomes easy to hire them for cooking purposes during the big parties, weddings and engagement parties.Kandru’s wake up early in the morning and burn fire of the woods in the clay tandoor and start baking, chout ,Lavasas and at 12 noon bake telworu, katlam etc meeting the demands of customers. Kaundrus bake kulcha which is very famous in Kashmiri Pandit community and they consume it in Jammu as well. The beauty of kulcha is that it can be preserved for many days and can then be consumed. To sum up it can be said that Kandru’s are a part and parcel of Kashmiri culture and even at Jammu Kandrus continue to be the inseparable part of Kashmiri culture. Even at Jammu at Kaunderwan we find people engaged in gossips, interactions and discussing current news. Kandur and dandur are interwoven in the milieu of Kashmiri culture even at Jammu after migration of Kashmiri Pandits.