After workers of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vandalised Karachi Bakery in India’s Hyderabad over its name on Saturday, Pakistanis have been showing love for Hyderabad’s Bombay Bakery in Pakistan.
The attack on Karachi Bakery came prior to the ceasefire announcement between the two neighbouring countries amid heightened tensions. The vandals wore saffron shawls, stepped on Pakistani flags and chanted anti-Pakistan slogans, The Wire reported, adding that there was footage of them striking the bakery’s sign with sticks, to target the word ‘Karachi’.
This was not an isolated incident. In 2019, an outlet of the Karachi Bakery in India’s Bengaluru covered up the word ‘Karachi’ on its signboard after a mob protested against the name. The Bengaluru Police Control Room confirmed to Scroll.in at the time that it had received a distress call in connection with a ruckus at Karachi Bakery in Indiranagar.
Amid this, social media users from Pakistan were quick to show their appreciation for Bombay Bakery and its delicious cakes. The bakery, owned by the Thadani family, celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2011, and has been a local staple for years, enjoying a very loyal customer base.
‘Shameful behaviour’
Pakistani designer Deepak Perwani condemned the “shameful behaviour” following news about the Karachi Bakery vandalism. He highlighted that “no one, absolutely no one ever touches their [Bombay Bakery’s] shops.”
‘Super special cake’
An X (formerly Twitter) user pointed out that the “legendary” bakery featured a “super special cake that’s so famous, it flies off the shelves faster than you can say, ‘yum’!” That cake is, of course, the very famous coffee cake.
Another user pointed out that Bombay Bakery in Pakistan often had lines of customers over that cake.
The bakery is famous for long queues and selling out their cakes in mere minutes, despite their frantic efforts at limiting the number to two per customer.
“Even in Hyderabad, Pakistan, the most iconic bakery is the Bombay Bakery,” someone wrote.
“From early morning until closing time, people line up outside its doors. The bakery’s cakes have become a cherished staple that are often gifted as tokens of affection and celebration.”
Pakistan’s ‘pride’
Others affectionately said that the bakery was Pakistan’s “pride.”
A netizen said the bakery was “the pride of Pakistan, regardless of its name.”
Generations of eating coffee cake
One person shared that an event in their family, especially birthdays, was incomplete without Bombay Bakery’s famed coffee cake.
“My father and my grandfather have stood in lines to get the cake, years before I was born. Bombay Bakery is as Pakistani as it can get.”
A beloved bakery
Some social media users highlighted that the bakery was run by a Hindu family and loved by “all Pakistanis.”
Another person said that if anyone dared to touch Bombay Bakery, the entire city of Hyderabad, and perhaps the whole country, would “riot” because “it’s beloved.”
‘Honour our heritage with love’
“While Indian extremists vandalise bakeries out of hate, here in Pakistan, we honour our heritage with love. Bombay Bakery founded in 1911 in Hyderabad, Sindh by Pahlajrai Gangaram Thandani, a Sindhi Hindu from Dadu, is more than just a bakery,” one person wrote on X.
“It’s a symbol of shared culture, co-existence and legacy […] We don’t attack names. We celebrate taste, tradition and those who created it.”
‘Once a proud nation’
An Indian X user shed light on the incident, adding that Bombay Bakery in Pakistan’s Hyderabad was “celebrated by all.”
“We were once a proud, secular nation. Look at us now. Is this the India we dreamed of?” he questioned.
‘Craving’
All we can say is that we’re grateful for Bombay Bakery and, much like this X user, we’re now craving some of their delicious coffee cake.
