An Avid Fair Attendee Eats 28 Ladoos in 30 Minutes

A crowd-pulling ladoo-eating competition at Gujarat’s renowned Tarnetar Fair saw defending champion Balwantbhai Raghavani retain his title after consuming 28 gram-flour ladoos in 30 minutes, outperforming 27 other contestants in the unique Rural Olympics event.

The world-famous Tarnetar Fair in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district hosted its popular Ladoo-Eating Competition as part of the Rural Olympics, drawing large crowds eager to witness the unique cultural event.

Organised jointly by the Sports Authority of Gujarat, the Department of Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities, and the District Training Centre, the competition saw 28 participants aged between 25 and 75 years take part. Under the rules, contestants were given 30 minutes to eat as many sugar-sweetened gram flour ladoos served with dal as possible.

The atmosphere turned lively as spectators cheered on the participants. During the first 15 minutes, several contestants were eliminated after consuming an average of 15 ladoos. The contest eventually narrowed to five finalists, with the crowd erupting in applause as competitors crossed the 22-, 24-, and 26-ladoo marks.

In a thrilling finish, Balwantbhai Raghavani, a resident of Ori village in Vinchhiya taluka and last year’s champion, successfully defended his title by eating 28 ladoos in 30 minutes. As per the competition rules, he emerged as the sole winner and received a cash prize of Rs 2,000.

District Collector G H Solanki praised the enthusiastic participation and said the Tarnetar Fair reflects the region’s cultural heritage, joy and community spirit. The event was also attended by Assistant Superintendent of Police Vaidika Bihani, Prant Officer K N Kacha, District Sports Development Officer Parth Chauhan, and other officials.

While this particular farmer is the internet’s current hero, people have a deeply rooted tradition of laddoo eating sprees in India rather than just seeing it as a modern trend:

The Ancient Rajkot Traditions: Places like Rajkot, Gujarat, have historically hosted annual mass laddoo-eating gatherings during festivals to honor Hindu gods like Lord Ganesha, with the community considering the overindulgence as a celebration of prasad (divine offering).

The Massive Record-Breakers: While humans can only eat so many, Indian chefs love to create giant versions of the sweet. Recently, Chef A.P. Singh made headlines by crafting a single 4,442 kg laddu in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.

Content contributed by Saurabh Vaktania, Nikhil Pandey, reported from Surendranagar, Gujarat, India, sourced by ndtv.com