Now the dreaded coronavirus has a sweet avatar.
A famous Bengali sweet shop chain in Kolkata has come up with its new offerings - Corona Sandesh and Corona Cake -to spread awareness about the deadly Covid-19 disease declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.
The sandesh and cake, both shaped like the novel coronavirus, are prominently displayed alongside other sweets in the retail chain’s outlets.
But there is one important difference.
“Corona sandesh is not for sale. We are handing it out to all our customers for free as part of our social duty to make people aware about the dangerous viral infection,” said an official of Hindustan Sweets at its headquarters in Jadavpur in south Kolkata.
The chain is known for its tradition of producing sweets named after big events.
During the India-Bangladesh pink ball Test at the Eden Gardens last November, the chain’s Pink Ball sandesh sold like hot cakes.
But this time the chain has been guided not by any profit motive, but by a desire to spread consciousness about the raging infection which has claimed more than a hundred lives in India, and over 70,000 globally.
“We will make the sandesh every day and distribute it free,” the official said.
Proprietor Rabin Pal said the sweet packets will have printed messages about the do’s and don’ts for preventing the disease.
“We are hopeful that if people meticulously follow the directives on do’s and don’ts being given to them by the authorities, then the world will be corona-free soon,” he said.
A worker gives the final touches to sweets featuring the novel coronavirus in a shop in Kolkata yesterday.
