 "Sweet nostalgia")
Rajan Salvi, much to the delight of his children, would often return home during a 40-year career at Parle Products with the fragrance of sugary snacks still clinging to his shirt. This was especially the case on days when he operated and supervised machines in the "hot department" of the Vile Parle factory, which baked the popular Parle-G biscuits. But as the company winds up production in its 87-year-old manufacturing unit in Mumbai, those traces of glucose are fast fading from the suburb's air - and Salvi's clothes.
The reason for the shutdown was low production output at the unit, company spokespersons were quoted as saying in recent reports. "The Mumbai factory's contribution to production was a small percentage of the overall," confirms Pravin Kulkarni, general manager for marketing, who has been with the company since the mid-1990s. This is further expected to bring down distribution costs. "Shipping from Mumbai to various centres was becoming expensive." While the official statements make the event seem innocuous, it is more than a mere blip in the company's history.
The factory, founded in 1929, was the first ever to be set up by Parle. Ten years later, its iconic glucose biscuits were launched there, coinciding with World War ll. Owing to restricted supplies in that period, the biscuits were initially made with barley instead of wheat and wrapped in newspaper dipped in wax. The company made its own machines for baking and packaging. Over time, the product's name went from Gluco to Parle-G.
The emotional outpour was not surprising. Parle-G is the most basic of Indian biscuits, available and consumed in big cities and far-flung towns alike. At Rs 5 a packet, it is also affordable, becoming the snack of choice for a quick burst of energy or for feeding hungry strays. For many, it is the preferred biscuit for dunking in tea.
The decision to move production out of Mumbai is said to have cut short the stints of around 300 employees who were offered compensations or transfers. Many are long-time residents of Vile Parle or nearby suburbs and were not keen on moving to locations such as Bhuj or Khopoli. While the makers maintain the biscuits will remain unaffected in terms of availability and price, Rajendra Tawte, a former employee in the dispatch marketing department, insists that the Mumbai plant was superior in some ways. "The BMC water is of high quality so the biscuits here taste better than from the outskirts."
The factory is closely tied with the Vile Parle area, even having drawn its name from there. Both Parle and the neighbouring landscape have gone through ample change since. In the first year of operation, the company's only assets, says its website, had been "hard work and hope". The complex then grew to include a corporate office and a few guesthouses. Confectionary and newer snacks like cream biscuits and bite-sized cheese snacks were added to the mix.
Where the erstwhile Goldspot bottling factory remains in the form of a Bisleri manufacturing unit, other landmarks in the area such as the Shaan single-screen theatre are disappearing. A bridge nearby offers a view of the campus: short, old-worldly factory structures flanked by mango trees. For years, Parle sold overbaked or broken cookies in kilo-size packets for Rs 30 near its office. These were also stocked in local kirana shops, many of which have since been bought out by swanky new establishments.
The community-style 'wada' housing in Vile Parle has given way to posh buildings. The new constructions here are not very tall as the area falls in the airport zone. As there are fewer flats to meet the high demand, it is a coveted neighbourhood reportedly commanding prices between Rs 25,000 and Rs 28,000 per square foot.
For some residents, the factory was not just a landmark but also an essential part of growing up. Several local schools, including the Parle Tilak Vidyalaya and Madhavrao Bhagwat High School, were sending its students to the factory to learn about the production process.
"We would eagerly wait for the plate of biscuits they gave us at the end," says Shwetambara Sawant, Vile Parle resident and film journalist. Ridhima Mahabal, now a professor of media studies, remembers that the walk back home from school would often be punctuated by the factory bell which loudly marked the beginning and end of shifts. The visits for school kids will continue, says Parle's Kulkarni, but it will happen at the other venues.
Parle makes biscuits and confectionary at large plants in Bahadurgarh, Haryana and Neemrana, Rajasthan. Further, it runs 10 manufacturing units and has 75 more on contract. The biscuits are available internationally too. Yet, as a Business Standard report pointed out last year, with biscuit consumption moving to premium formats, the glucose brand has been looking for ways to stay relevant.
Work has stopped at the factory but the corporate office, which shares the same premises, is still functioning. The big green gate bearing the brand name is shut but people are seen occasionally going in and out. Sukhdev Shinde, who owns a shoe shop nearby started by his father in the 1960s, recalls a time of more vibrant activity. As a young lad he was sent to deliver milk there, and it was thrilling to be let inside the lone major factory in the locality. Officers and international clients would visit. Engineers lived on-site to handle technical mishaps. Unlike before when there were three shifts daily, for the past few years there has been only one.
But such transformation was inevitable, he observes. From making traditional Kolhapuri-type chappals, his own business has modified to distributing factory-made rubber ones. The scent of biscuits was even stronger, he recalls, when the company would use powdered glucose instead of the liquid kind until some 15 years ago. While ruing the end of the factory, he also adds with everyday wisdom that it is all "just a part of the process."
The reason for the shutdown was low production output at the unit, company spokespersons were quoted as saying in recent reports. "The Mumbai factory's contribution to production was a small percentage of the overall," confirms Pravin Kulkarni, general manager for marketing, who has been with the company since the mid-1990s. This is further expected to bring down distribution costs. "Shipping from Mumbai to various centres was becoming expensive." While the official statements make the event seem innocuous, it is more than a mere blip in the company's history.
The factory, founded in 1929, was the first ever to be set up by Parle. Ten years later, its iconic glucose biscuits were launched there, coinciding with World War ll. Owing to restricted supplies in that period, the biscuits were initially made with barley instead of wheat and wrapped in newspaper dipped in wax. The company made its own machines for baking and packaging. Over time, the product's name went from Gluco to Parle-G.
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News of the factory's closure led to hasty obituaries and tributes for the brand's flagship product, Parle-G, on social media. The company has taken to the same medium to assure confused customers, using hashtags such as 'Parle-G is here to stay'. Production has simply moved from Mumbai to other units, explains Kulkarni. "We have more than 100 units."
The emotional outpour was not surprising. Parle-G is the most basic of Indian biscuits, available and consumed in big cities and far-flung towns alike. At Rs 5 a packet, it is also affordable, becoming the snack of choice for a quick burst of energy or for feeding hungry strays. For many, it is the preferred biscuit for dunking in tea.
The decision to move production out of Mumbai is said to have cut short the stints of around 300 employees who were offered compensations or transfers. Many are long-time residents of Vile Parle or nearby suburbs and were not keen on moving to locations such as Bhuj or Khopoli. While the makers maintain the biscuits will remain unaffected in terms of availability and price, Rajendra Tawte, a former employee in the dispatch marketing department, insists that the Mumbai plant was superior in some ways. "The BMC water is of high quality so the biscuits here taste better than from the outskirts."
The factory is closely tied with the Vile Parle area, even having drawn its name from there. Both Parle and the neighbouring landscape have gone through ample change since. In the first year of operation, the company's only assets, says its website, had been "hard work and hope". The complex then grew to include a corporate office and a few guesthouses. Confectionary and newer snacks like cream biscuits and bite-sized cheese snacks were added to the mix.
Where the erstwhile Goldspot bottling factory remains in the form of a Bisleri manufacturing unit, other landmarks in the area such as the Shaan single-screen theatre are disappearing. A bridge nearby offers a view of the campus: short, old-worldly factory structures flanked by mango trees. For years, Parle sold overbaked or broken cookies in kilo-size packets for Rs 30 near its office. These were also stocked in local kirana shops, many of which have since been bought out by swanky new establishments.
The community-style 'wada' housing in Vile Parle has given way to posh buildings. The new constructions here are not very tall as the area falls in the airport zone. As there are fewer flats to meet the high demand, it is a coveted neighbourhood reportedly commanding prices between Rs 25,000 and Rs 28,000 per square foot.
For some residents, the factory was not just a landmark but also an essential part of growing up. Several local schools, including the Parle Tilak Vidyalaya and Madhavrao Bhagwat High School, were sending its students to the factory to learn about the production process.
"We would eagerly wait for the plate of biscuits they gave us at the end," says Shwetambara Sawant, Vile Parle resident and film journalist. Ridhima Mahabal, now a professor of media studies, remembers that the walk back home from school would often be punctuated by the factory bell which loudly marked the beginning and end of shifts. The visits for school kids will continue, says Parle's Kulkarni, but it will happen at the other venues.
Parle makes biscuits and confectionary at large plants in Bahadurgarh, Haryana and Neemrana, Rajasthan. Further, it runs 10 manufacturing units and has 75 more on contract. The biscuits are available internationally too. Yet, as a Business Standard report pointed out last year, with biscuit consumption moving to premium formats, the glucose brand has been looking for ways to stay relevant.
Work has stopped at the factory but the corporate office, which shares the same premises, is still functioning. The big green gate bearing the brand name is shut but people are seen occasionally going in and out. Sukhdev Shinde, who owns a shoe shop nearby started by his father in the 1960s, recalls a time of more vibrant activity. As a young lad he was sent to deliver milk there, and it was thrilling to be let inside the lone major factory in the locality. Officers and international clients would visit. Engineers lived on-site to handle technical mishaps. Unlike before when there were three shifts daily, for the past few years there has been only one.
But such transformation was inevitable, he observes. From making traditional Kolhapuri-type chappals, his own business has modified to distributing factory-made rubber ones. The scent of biscuits was even stronger, he recalls, when the company would use powdered glucose instead of the liquid kind until some 15 years ago. While ruing the end of the factory, he also adds with everyday wisdom that it is all "just a part of the process."