This Article is From Dec 22, 2014

In This Parliament, it's All Sweet, No Bitter Exchanges

In This Parliament, it's All Sweet, No Bitter Exchanges

This Parliament is made of over 3500 pieces of sugar blocks.

Bengaluru: Imagine a Parliament House that's all about sweetness and light. No bitter exchanges. No sour expressions. Tough? Not in Bengaluru, where the annual Christmas cake show is being held in the St Joseph's School grounds for the 40th year.

This year, the centerpiece is a replica of the Parliament House, made entirely of sugar.

"We used 3.5 tons of sugar, gelatin, flavour and colour. Around 60 people worked on it for almost three months," said C Ramachandran, the man involved in the design and creation of these giant sugar models for four decades.
Building this model, 18 feet in diameter, with its pillars and windows and the national flag flying high, was complicated.

"This is sugar engineering... we minimise the thickness, calculate the load and strength," said Ravindra Babu, who has been working with the cake show for over 20 years and calls himself a "sugar engineer".

The Parliament looks like simple, but it comprises 3,750 pieces. Everything is made of sugar, every bit is edible.

As an example, he held up the windows of the model - delicate looking grill work made out of very delicate sugar icing.

"When the material is soft, we cut it into in different shapes - arches, ovals, conical shapes," he said. The pieces take around 27 hours to harden, after which the whole thing is assembled.

Many other sugar giants were on display too - from ISRO's Mars orbiter to models of Chotta Bhim.

All of it was a big hit with the children.

"It is wonderful, and a tremendous task to make... it takes hours of work," said young Malaika. "The flag is very nice, the carvings and all the pillars, how they have attached it. It is wonderful work."

"I like Chotta Bhim the most. It is my favorite cake. The Parliament House is also nice," Mithun said. "I love this cake show very much."

The show, which attracts lakhs of visitors, will be on till January 4.
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