If you happen to be on Bajirao Road or Deccan Gymkhana on Gudi Padwa and catch sight of a serpentine queue winding away seemingly into nowhere, cloth bag in hand, rest assured you're in the vicinity of Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale. No self-respecting Maharashtrian home can do without heralding in their New Year with shrikhand, and the chakka (the basic raw material for the creamy, sweet-sour-saffron-cardamom flavoured milk-based accompaniment to puris or chapatis) at Chitale's is best only to what grandmom made.

And that alone must explain why the �working� homemaker will brave a stampede on Diwali-eve for the must-have-on-Diwali-day karanji, chakli, chirote, besan ladoo and a host of other delectable delicacies that tantalise the tongue and senses while infusing confirmed calorie-watchers with a never-before sense of despair.

Interestingly, there's more to the Chitale family � five brothers (whose sons and grandsons are now actively involved in the business) than just sweetmeats. Originally beginning as milk distributors, they branched out into the dairy business, and adding value too milk was the next most natural progression. And that's how Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale came to be about.

Today, the family has four outlets � two retailing milk and its derivatives (curd, chakka, ghee, butter etc) and as many for sweetmeats that have become landmarks in the city. And their product range in the latter is truly astounding. Just about every sweet or savoury in the Maharashtrian pantheon is available for the asking. Six days a week, for Monday is their day of rest.

So whether it is the crispy alu wadi, the sour-savoury surli wadi, the famed batata chivda to the asli Maharashtrian puran poli or dinka che ladu it's all there, hygiene, taste and quality guaranteed. The amba barfi is extraordinary. As for the bakar wadi, that travels forth with every traveller leaving the city, it's quite another story. Till recently, you had to either be on time (10.30 a.m. for the first consignment or 5 p.m. for the evening stock) or extremely lucky to lay your hands on that essentially Maharashtrian savoury. And the Chitales have made a legend of it.

These days, the process � from rolling out the flour casing, to the stuffing, to the deep frying is fully automated making the stuff less elusive.