Celebrating 129th anniversary of cake

THALASSERY: Ever thought of anyone wishing ‘Happy birthday to you, cake’? And that is happening at the  historic municipal town of Thalassery, where the cake was made first time in the state, and perhaps in India, more than 129 years ago.The bakers in the state are celebrating it as ‘Oru Desathinte Katha’ (The story of a village); of course, borrowing the title from the legendary Malayalam writer S K Pottekkatt. Steeped in the history of the nation and deeply linked with the colonial past of the country, Thalassery would witness yet another historic occasion of cutting the biggest cake ever made, during the 129th anniversary celebrations of the cake. A giant cake with a length of 350 ft and weighing 1,200 kg is getting ready to mark the moment.The long history of cake in India began with an official of the East India Company from England pulling in his horse-drawn carriage at the Mampally Royal Biscuit Factory at Thalassery exactly 129 years ago. The Englishman was carrying a cake brought from his native country, and he wanted the baker to make another one replicating it maintaining the same taste and flavour. To his surprise, a cake with better taste and flavour was made by the owner of the Mampally Royal Biscuit Factory, Mampally Bappu.Mampally Bappu, the baker of the cake, had no need to look back. During the World War I, he exported cakes and other sweets to the soldiers. And, later, people all over the state flocked to his bakery to purchase his delicious cake.The successors of Bappu turned out to be experts in cake-baking as they opened new shops all over the state.The cake-making formula was not confined to Bappu and his successors alone.Many other bakers in Thalassery and elsewhere in the country followed the tradition. But the success story of ‘the cake in India’ has a lot to do with the Mampally family and the rich tradition of Thalassery.Meanwhile, the cake being made to mark the anniversary celebrations, scheduled to be held at the municipal stadium on Saturday and Sunday, will carry the  significant events in the history of the nation and give a sketch of the national monuments, said the office-bearers of the Bakers Association.And the cake lovers are expecting  ‘ Many many happy returns of the day’.