Kandur Waan / Kashmiri Bakery / Naan Wai

And we carried our bread and bakery with us.

These Hindu bakehouses, usually operating from rented shop spaces near localities with sizable population of Kashmiri Pandits, are mostly run by Hindus of Kistawar.

Often near the oven, you can find a sketch of a pooch-bellied woman, Lal Ded. Pooch belly a cover for her nakedness.

Kashmiris tell a strange story in which this woman dived into a burning oven of a Kandur on seeing a ‘man’.  Some say it wasn’t like that. Nonsense! Bring the baker to the witness stand.

Don but such apparel as will cause the cold to flee.
Eat but so much food as will cause hunger to cease.
O Mind! devote thyself to discernment of the Self and of the Supreme,
And recognize thy body as but food for forest crows.

– Lal Ded

Another bakery at night.

All breads, and kashmiris have variety of breads, have shrunk in size. Lavaasa now come in size of Girda and size of Girda is inching towards kulcha. And all of them seem to have too much baking soda.