Kunjilalji was their great-grandfather, who in the later part of 1920 was attending an open meeting held by, none-other than, Mahatma Gandhi at one of the maidans of Aligarh. The meeting was to encourage the people to stand up for their dignity and their rights (non-violently of course). Kunjilal ji was awestruck by the greatness and simplicity of the Mahatma and offered him a laddoo that he had carried to the Maidan as a snack. Gandhi ji graciously accepted the laddoo and asked about his occupation. Kunjilal ji despondently hung his head and admitted (with a heavy heart) that he was jobless and could barely manage to make ends meet. Gandhiji then asked him what he loved doing. To which, Kunjilal ji smiled and said he loved to make Mithai and had in fact made the laddoos that very morning with rations borrowed from his good neighbour. Gandhiji ate the laddoo with great relish and told him that it was the tastiest laddoo he’d ever eaten! He advised Kunjilal ji to make mithai his profession. That was that!! The next morning Kunjilal borrowed some money from the local money lender, bought a small cart and some ingredients for mithai. He made the mithai at home with the help of his wife and peddled them through the streets of Aligarh. He then added a savoury mixture called Dalsev to complement his mithai. The brand carries Dalsev along with his name due to the immense popularity of the savoury snack. No amount of influencer programs, carefully scripted PR strategy and social media likes could create what one encouraging statement and a pat on the back from Gandhiji did for Kunjilal. That coupled with relentless hard-work, innovation and a strict stand on quality has made Kunjilal Dalsev wale a name to reckon with in the mithai industry of North India. Coincidentally, Kunjilal Dalsev wale established their first flagship store in 1947. The year that India proudly got her independence.
