Mishti, Kalighat and Nirbachoni Sandesh

The love of Bengalis for their mishti is simply admirable. They just love their mishti (Bengali Sweets). All over Kolkata, you will find innumerable mishti shops catering to the budget of every single citizen. The varieties are innumerable too. The shop owners are so imaginative, that they create and modify the misty according to the changing seasons and even the changing moods of the city!

Just visit the famous mishti shop at Golpark circle early in the morning. Silently watch the expressions on the face of the owner, who is sitting at the counter. At that time, his only job is to read the small chits of paper and to collect the money from customers. No one is in a hurry. All are taking their own time to go through the round. But, while doing such mundane job, the expressions on his face are just divine. As if he is sitting in the pooja room of his home and in all sincerity, praying Ma Kaali with fullest devotion!

The scene at the age old and famous mishti shop at Kalighat is little different. However, the underlying mood that can be sensed is no different that the earlier shop. BTW do take a walk from Ravindra Sarovar Metro station to Kalighat Metro station. The area is just poetic. From Ravindra Sarovar station walk down under the Tallygunj bridge and then turn to right. Take Sarat Chandra Avenue and walk down circling the Ravindra Sarovar. I just could not pass from there without taking at least 3-4 pauses. The scene is so beautiful. At the crossing main road turn left. Then via Southern Avenue walk to Kalighat Station. While walking from Southern Avenue, there is one Southy hole in the wall kind eating joint. They serve good idlies and chutney too but the sambar is bit difficult to accept. However, one must accept that fact that, after all, he is in Bengal and not in Matunga or Chennai. On that semi circular road, on both sides, you will find cute bungalows and two storied buildings belonging to the names like Das, Basu, Chatterjee, Makherjee, Ganguly etc etc. The area is belonging to circa 1940's-50's pucca.

Near Kalighat Metro station, there is one authentic Punjabi dhaba. It was just love at first sight! After a gap of about 4 days, I could get daal tadka and tandoori roti there! They serve excellent Tandoori Chicken, daal tadka and tandoori roties directly from the 'bhatti' to your plate. Piping hot. No halt in between. They proved their authenticity to a foodie like me by bringing a blob of white butter in a small plate even without asking.

Near the Kalighat temple, there is a mishti shop which I mentioned above. That's a cult shop more than a century old. The owners and managers of that shop are very imaginative. Sensing the political mood of the city due to ongoing Parliamentary (Loksabha) elections, they presented a election special item naming it as "Nirbachoni Sandesh". (Election (special) Sandesh). What a imagination and timing in naming the item! Their show cases are filled with this eye-fetching sweets embossed with symbols of various political parties. Bengalis truly love their mishti!     

Mishti Doi of Calcutta

Mishti Doi, for quite some time, in fact,  I mean for years, I was under the impression that it is just sweetened curd. But I must confess, I was wrong! Mishti Doi is something entirely different! Oh! it is an institution by itself! To realize what it is, you must visit one of the authentic and traditional Mishti Shop in Calcutta. It is suckled not only at dinner time but before lunch too! And not in those ugly plastic jars what we use in Maharashtra, but in real earthen Kulhad! ( I prefer to call it Kulhad as it used to be in erstwhile Bengal Presidency, rather than "Bhand" in pure Bengali) I have myself seen many Bong ladies having it directly sucking from the Kulhad or rather "Bhand" just before lunch time at Gariahat in Calcutta! The only regret, I could not click them in my camera for obvious reasons! (Though I was carrying my camera with me at that time) But believe me, the expressions on their faces were just divine! Oh, one of my friend just triggered the recent experience in my mind! Thank you my dear friend.  

Jorasanko

I am still deeply immersed in the area of Jorasanko of Calcutta. So much of original material written in the early as well as middle nineteenth century is available with me! In the mean time, I ran into the meaning of the term "Jorasanko". The book says, Jora, in Bengali, means Two and Sanko means wooden bridge. It actually refers to two wooden bridge which may be in existence much before the Tagore family built its Thakur Badi in the vicinity. Today, as I found, is the most fascinating area of Calcutta; especially at evening time! The tract between Marble Palace and Thakur Badi within Jorasanko offers the most exciting history and the buildings associated with it. Only thing is that, you should know it!     

Prince Anwar Shah Road

Recently came accross some paintings in oil paint, depicting departure and reception of sons of Tipu Sultan by Lord Cornwolis, the then Governor General at Calcutta, as hostages. The sons were initially kept at Vellore prison and then shifted to Calcutta. Today, one of the main road connecting Gariahat corner to Eastern Metropolitan By-Pass is named as Prince Anwar Shah Road; one of those sons of Tipu! I used to pass through that road almost every day during my recent visit to Calcutta and have decided to find out everything about Prince Anwar Shah, which I did!

Ahiritola

Ahiritola, a small hamlet of North Calcutta. In fact, I accidently landed on the jetty of Ahiritola when randomly roaming around various launch routes of Hoogli. I wanted to go to Sovabazar and by asking someone standing nearby, jumped inside a launch at Howrah. The launch eventually took me to Ahiritola instead of Sovabazar.

The moment I landed on the jetty, I developed a strange feeling as if I am visiting the REAL Calcutta. The “mahual” the old buildings and homes and the structures in general, gave me some strange feeling! I found it a suburb full of typical old Begali culture. Even the faces nay the whole personalities of the men and women appeared typical Bengali. Needless to mention, I clicked many photographs there. When I narrated my experience of Ahiritola to my friends in the late evening, they told me that, that is the real old Calcutta and the city started developing from that area on! So, I was not wrong!

And now, yesterday, I read that the icon of Bengali personality in my mind, Mahanayak Uttam Kumar, was born on 3^rd September 1926, in Ahiritola at the home of his maternal uncle when his own ancestral home was in Bhowanipore!

Calcutta aka Kolkata

Calcutta.........its too difficult for me to call it Kolkata. But I have to; because that's the new official name the city has! Kolkata, the 'pucca' colonial city, the city of joy, the city of dreams of pre-independence era of every youth of 'Hindoostan', the city of art, the city of culture and above all, the city I love immensely. (One must know what 'Hindoostan' means to appreciate what I am saying) To be precise, one of the city I love. And I love the city immensely. Other cities, of course, are Aurangabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad-Secunderabad and old Dilli aka Shajahanabad. I just fall in love of this city way back in 1986 when I had an opportunity to visit it for one full month! Though, my visit was official, because then I was in job, I utilised the opportunity to explore the city to the fullest possible extent. I was a young lad of just 26 then. No camera of my own. So whatever is engraved in my memory is the only picture I have with me to this day! But I remember vividly the city as it was then. Thoroughly Colonial! May be because I had an opportunity to stay in a thoroughly British hotel at Explanade. It was famous by name 'Carlton' and was owned by a British lady. Now the hotel is demolished. It's no more in existence. But my memories are! They are vivid! And I shall write about them here, in addition, of course, to the experience I had this year in the city I love. A entirely new structure, being hotel again, has come up on the very site where the Carlton was. Carlton was two storied structure. With typical colonial slanting roof. Now the building which came up there is a high rise. And my friend told me the other day, that the new hotel has one restaurant which serves the best Bengali food in town! When I was standing in front of the building, for clicking its photographs, I was very emotional, nay almost in tears!