I picked Bhujia Barons because I have been snacking Haldiram‘s for over a decade now. The author has not done enough justice to the story. I felt like reading some newspaper article.
The book is about the origin of the brand Halidirams from Bikaner and branching out laters in India Nagpur, Kolkata, and Delhi.
Like any family business book talks about:
- Legacy of a secret recipe.
- Pain and hard work.
- Respect for elders
- Running a debt free, low-risk business.
- Treating customers above everything else.
It also talks about how ego, aspirations resulted in a collision and further division among the family members. The Kolkata family of Haldiram’s showed as most aspirating, ruthless, breaking the law, bribing, etc.
I don’t think the book has enough substance. It could have been a single long-form post or investigative piece.