Dhaka's street pithawalas are loving this winter

Imran Hossain works in a bike store in Moghbazar. Every winter when he goes to his hometown in Bhola, his mother makes Chitoi pitha for him. 

Nothing beats the taste of steaming Chitoi with meat that mothers serve from the earthen stove in village kitchens in winter evenings.  

Imran misses that universal Bengal experience. But he couldn't make it home this winter. 

In the first week of January when Dhaka became blanketed in shivering cold, that 'pitha nostalgia' got the better of Imran. During a break from work, he walked to and stood in a queue at a street-side pithawala vendor at Moghbazar circle when we met him. 

Photo: Rajib Dhar

Pithamaker Shahidullah, working on half a dozen stoves all at once, was struggling to meet the demand of the growing customers who were towering above his store obstructing the footpath. 

Hailing from Madaripur, he comes to Dhaka each winter to sell pithas. Apart from peak pitha season in winter, he works on a day-by-day basis - anything that pays. 

Selling pithas in winter is a convenient yet highly rewarding alternative income opportunity for Shahidullah. The pitha season lasts roughly three months. 

Sourcing the pithamaking ingredients that include coconuts, Patali Gur, etc is not tough. From Karwan Bazar to random bazaars, the ingredients can be managed from abundant places across the city. 

Photo: Rajib Dhar

However, pithamakers collect rice powder - the main ingredient of pitha, from people like Nazrul - the Mahazans who have their own rice grinding machines. 

"From Kakrail to Bangla Motor, I provide rice powder to more than 70 pithamakers in the season. I sell around 500 kg of rice powder per day," said Nazrul, adding, "Per kg of Atop rice powder [Atop rice is the key variant of rice for pithamaking] costs Tk60." 

So how much rice powder a street vendor, like Shahidullah, buys from you? "It depends on sales actually," he answered, "I sell up to 20 to 30 kg, [sometimes] even 40 kg of rice powder per day." 

According to Nazrul, a pithamaker with multiple stoves can make a few thousand pitha a day. 

"Making a piece of Chitoi pitha [some of the street pithawalas call it Chitol pitha as well] can take up to three minutes. But it all depends on how many customers are there," Nazrul said. 

"If the store is big where multiple stoves are at work, they [street pithamakers] can easily sell over Tk5,000 worth of pitha a day. If not, how else are they going to meet the expenses of workers, gas, oil, rice powder…" he added. 

Depending on locations and the number of stoves, the capital's street pitha-sellers we interviewed said they sell pithas of two to three kgs of rice powder to over 20 kgs in one day. 

If we put that in money, a street pithamaker in season can make Tk1,500 a day to more than Tk5,000 a day depending on location and business size. 

However, the sale amount doesn't automatically translate into revenues. With rising costs of oil, rice and almost every other ingredient, a large amount of money from the sales gets used as expenditures. 

Imran Hossain, however, finally bought three pieces of Bhapa pitha, Chitoi pitha, and Bhaja pitha from Shahidullah for Tk10 each. 

"I have already eaten pithas several times from the street vendors this winter. These pithas are not as good as what my mother makes. Back home we eat Chitoi with meat. In Dhaka, they only give mashed mustards, mashed dried fish or mashed coriander leaves," Imran said. 

"But pitha is pitha," he added while munching on the winter delicacies on the wintery evening.  

Meanwhile, Shahidullah was not very happy with us shouldering him the way we did being immersed in our conversation about our mutual love for pithas. After all, Shahidullah has nearly 20 kg of pithas to sell, and the people surrounding him are not very patient. 

"How am I going to work if you talk so much?" said a visibly annoyed and extremely busy Shahidullah. 

From the capital's Banglamotor, Moghbazar and Mouchak to Khilgaon, we met more than a dozen street pithamakers like him that evening. With each vendor, we found long queues of customers. 

"I love this time of the year," said Jibon, a young pithawala near Khilgaon Chowrasta. Jibon lives in Kurigram. He comes to the capital each winter for three to four months to make pithas on the streets. 

He makes only Bhapa pitha. "Because it is easier to make, sells more and I have only one stove," Jibon explained.  

When the winter is over, Jibon will once again return to his village and work in agricultural lands. The winter brings him this unique opportunity to make some money in the capital each year. 

"I can sell up to 150 to 200 pithas on some days. I learned to make pithas from my elder brother. He also sells pithas in winter in Dhaka," Jibon said. 

The pithawalas of Dhaka street commonly make three types of pithas – Bhapa pitha, Bhaja pitha, and Chitoi pitha. Each of these pithas cost Tk10 on average. 

There is a difference in shape between Dhaka street pithawalas' Chitoi and the one we eat at home. Unlike its oval shape, Dhaka street's Chitoi is sort of a bread shape but thicker and smaller in size.

The street Bhapa pitha is also substantially different from what you eat at home, especially if you belong to the Faridpur region, where mothers make it unique with thick layers of coconuts, Patali Gur along with mashed rice. The street Bhapa pithas are just a small layer of coconut and Patali Gur but full of mashed rice. 

But just like Imran told us, "pitha is pitha," after all. People don't complain. 

Some pithawalas, however, offer variations. 

Kamal, for example, a rather serious-looking man in front of Taltola Market in Khilgaon accompanied by a female assistant, was making Egg-pitha. This is larger in shape than Chitoi. It is basically made of mashed rice syrup, egg and salt.

He sells this pitha at Tk30. For the lucrative location in front of Taltola Market, he can sell approximately 20 kgs pithas a day. 

Kamal, in other seasons, sells different types of sharbat in the same location. 

We found plenty of such street vendors in Dhaka who started making pithas accompanied by their wives as a side gig along with other businesses. 

Imtiaz Ali beside Mouchak Market for example sells green coconut, vegetables etc in other seasons. But now, accompanied by his wife, he was busy making pithas in several stoves. 

"Pitha sells more in winter. We love this time of the year. But too much cold is bad. People don't come out when it's too cold," Imtiaz said.

On a day with the right kind of weather, Imtiaz and his wife sell around 500 pieces of pithas, just like any other street vendor like them in a proper location in the capital. 

And the pithawalas of Dhaka street's success stories are aplenty. 

Sokina, a widowed tea store owner in Khilgaon Chowrasta who also turned to pithamaking in winter, said that "My sister-in-law sells pithas in Tantibazar area. Every day they make more than 20 kg of pithas. The sale volume is very high in that location. They have built a house in Jinjira selling pithas." 

What about you? "I don't sell much. I make around Tk1,000 per night, and that is enough for me," Sokina replied.