The Beginnings of the Haritachala Bakery

“Almost there,” 5-year-old me winces as she stretches her hand to grab the spice jar at the top of the shelf. As a child, I would climb up to the cupboards in our kitchen and inspect the array of my mom’s Indian spices. Choosing only the most colorful (and random) spices, I would then make my way to my room to experiment. My pink, polka-dotted Minnie Mouse cooking pots would serve as my cauldron as I made the most horrendous creations that would make even the great witch Maleficent gag. Little did I know that this childhood curiosity of mine would soon spiral me into opening my own bakery one day. 

It was sometime around March of 2022 when Sruti Akka reached out to me regarding an idea to open a bakery in Tiruvannamalai. I was beyond excited as it was quite literally a childhood dream come to life. In her message, Sruti Akka detailedly explained the goals and purposes of the bakery. There was a growing number of foreigners in Tiruvannamalai who were seeking freshly baked Western goods, and our goal was to make Western pastries with as many organic ingredients as possible. Additionally, the proceeds will go towards maintaining the farm and mandir. With these goals in mind, we set out to create one of a kind pastries found only at Harithachala Bakery!

During the Giggling Geckos camp in 2023 Tanvi and I scoured the farm for various fruits that could be incorporated into our baked goods. We came up with a list of baked goods that were inspired by western pastries but still had the Indian flavors that we were used to. After camp ended, Sruti Akka, Tanvi, Sweety Akka and I met on Google Meets to continue planning for the bakery. Tanvi and I occasionally sold the baked goods that we made in my community and the profits we made went towards buying materials for the bakery. We currently are still in the recipe testing phase for some of the pastries but we successfully made sourdough bread which we anticipate will be one of our bestselling products. 

We wouldn’t have made it this far without the support of the Geckos, Sruti Akka, our parents and Baba and Guruji thatha. I’m so thankful to Sruti Akka for giving me the opportunity to fulfill a dream of mine, and for Tanvi, my absolutely amazing partner who helped me a lot through the baking process. Harithachala Bakery is ever growing and we can’t wait to see where we end up in the future!

Written by Hasita Pola