KOLKATA

The opening words of this book are ‘Ei Shohor Tomar Jonno’; Bengali for ‘This city is for you’. And, no matter where you’re from, this holds true. The Kolkata you’ve heard of is a colourful medley of Durga Pujo pandals, phuchka, sandesh and kosha mangsho. The Kolkata you experience on a quick visit likely features those phuchkas at Bara Bazar, biryani at Arsalan, and Lobster Thermidor or Chicken à la Kiev at Trincas. All things 'quintessentially’ Kolkata; but only a mere fraction of Kolkata in real life. The Kolkata you will find in these pages, however, is about the sundry layers that emerge when you look closer.
The lore of the legendary Kolkata Chinese, the people behind the pandals, the busy bylanes of Gariahat market, traversed by cats scouring for fresh crustaceans and turning up their noses at the foraged greens...

It is a city serious about its mithai, with mishti doi, rosogulla and chanar jilapi filling sweet-streets like Mishti Para. It is loyal to its mild and fragrant biryani, devoured family-style at Sealdah’s Chakku Khansama Lane, or delivered lovingly by a home kitchen. And its long love affair with fish manifests in myriad forms; tossed in posto, lightly-fried in maach bhajas, or stewed with spices in macher jhaal. If you are an explorer hungry for history and flavour, this city truly is for you…