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Seviyan makers have their hands full for Eid
The third generation seviyan makers living on the banks of Musi in Malakpet get busy with making hand-made vermicelli during Ramzan.
Malakpet: The third generation seviyan makers living on the banks of Musi in Malakpet get busy with making hand-made vermicelli during Ramzan.
Despite the traditional business slowly giving way to machine-made vermicelli, Saleem Khan's family is among a few who still continue to push themselves in making hand-made seviyans. The 65-year-old seviyan makers are busy in preparing hand-made seviyan in the holy month Ramzan, used in making the traditional dessert, Sheerkhorma, on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr.
The desert is made up of seviyan, besides milk, dates, sugar and dry fruit. Even though the machine-made vermicelli is available in the market, the hand-made ones are preferred, but due to high cost and time consumption in making, few families continue to engage themselves in making the dessert in the Old City, especially in Chaderghat, Charminar and Yakutpura.
A few seviyan makers work as the traditional workers at Saleem Khan's unit, besides his family members. The family has been running the business since more than 60 years near Chaderghat, where 20 members, including women, work in preparing seviyan during the season.
Speaking to The Hans India, Anwar Khan, the son of Saleem Khan, said that the business was started by his grandfather some 60 years ago. "Now, we are competing against the onslaught of modernization, where man is wrestling with machines to stay put in a market.
We start preparing the seviyan 3 to 4 months before Ramzan. More than 20 kg of Maida is prepared for seviyan in each family every day, while 3 brothers of the family run this business. The seviyan is also transported to surrounding districts and neighbouring states," he said.
Even though the machine-made vermicelli is flooded in the market, people still prefer the handmade seviyan. Yousuf Khan's family is doing this business for the last 50 years near Charminar.
He starts preparing the seviyan about five months before Ramzan and prepares 22 quintals of hand-made seviyan, and his family helps him in his work. In other months, either Yousuf Khan works as a flower decorator in marriages and function hall or grabs some other work to make a living.
Seviyan preparation
Maida is mixed in water and salt is added for taste. The hand-made seviyan is also known as 'khari sewi'. Maida is soaked in water for 1 day, and then it is made soft by battering it for more than an hour. After the dough becomes soft, it is layered by using fingers (lachha marna) and then it is kept for drying. Within 5 to10 min, it becomes dry and the seviyan is ready.
By MM Farooqui
