Kathmandu, December 7
With only a few days remaining until Maghe Sankranti, entrepreneurs in Tokha, in the northern part of Kathmandu, are busy producing chaku. Chaku is a sweet taffy made from jaggery, sugarcane juice, ghee and nuts.
There is a tradition of eating chaku during Maghe Sankranti. As a result, industries operating in Tokha Municipality are seeing a surge in activity, with traders working at full capacity.
Chaku produced in Tokha is sold across the Kathmandu Valley, including in Ason, Indrachowk, Bhaktapur, Patan, Kirtipur, as well as in cities outside the valley such as Narayanghat, Pokhara, Butwal, and Biratnagar.
In the Newa language, ‘Tu’ means sugarcane, and ‘Khya:’ means a place where it grows. Tokha is a place renowned for sugarcane cultivation and chaku production.
Although demand for chaku is high, producers say they are struggling to keep up with production and deliver products to the market on time.
Industries in Tokha are currently producing a variety of items, including plain chaku, masala chaku, special chaku, white laddu, black laddu, Bombay laddu, pushtakari, bhuja laddu, and almond laddu.
In Newa culture, it is customary to eat chaku on the first day of Magh. Chaku is also traditionally eaten during cold weather.
