The flavour of Kolkata

The flavour of Kolkata
The city is known for its old alleys. One such is shot by Atanu Pal.

Friday, September 30, 2011

'Baishe Srabon' outside Bengal

Good to know (from Srijit Mukherjee's wall post and Prosenjit's tweet) that Baishe Srabon is having a simultaneous release today in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Certainly one of the best Puja gifts for the true-blue Bangalees there. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Desh short stories number

Bought the just-released Desh stort stories issue. Read Sangeeta Bandopadhyay's Dushtu Mishti first, and loved it (And told her so on Facebook!). It's a humane take on a relationship between a single woman and her pug.

Would love to come back here to talk more on the issue. Looks like a nice, small Puja gift from Desh!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The yummiest Mishti Doi

Posted a question on my Facebook wall to do an informal poll among friends : Who makes the yummiest 'Mishti Doi' in the city?. My vote went to Ganguram.

The result (Based on a few comments) is skewed towards Ganguram. And there was a small insight too. Many of us like the Mishti Doi from our neighbourhood sweet shops.

I don't have a sweet tooth. I have started having sweets on my own (i.e. not when treated by somebody) much late in life. In my late twenties. Still I am not much fond of Mishti Doi. I rather like the sour version when made at home. I didn't like the legendary Amrito's Mishti Doi. I've never been displeased with the transition of Mishti Doi to ice cream at marriage receptions and other similar occasions. But I found this dessert at Ganguram's different.

A foodie colleague treated me with Ganguram's Mishti Doi. And I loved it. It doesn't have a so called crust that's so much sought after by the Mishti Doi fans. It's the same at the top and bottom. Not too sweet or thick.

Oh, about the poll. The votes went to Mithai and Banchharam among the well-known brands of Kolkata. And the local ones include Shree Durga Mishtanna Bhandar in Behala and Ashesh Sweets in Barasat.

The poll can continue here. What's your pick as the 'Yummiest Mishti Doi in Kolkata'?



Saturday, September 24, 2011

The sandwich at Just Baked

Loved the chicken sandwich at Just Baked, at lunch today. At Rs 30, it is at a 50% higher rate than Monginis, with a taste, rich with generous dose of mayonnaise, that better.

Was tempted to have the chocolate walnut brownie as well (which is really good here!), but resisted for taking in too many calories (am on a diet watch before Puja).

Thursday, September 15, 2011

A Facebook post

Sanghita Chatterjee, a freelance writer and jewellery designer, and a Facebook friend of this blogger has made a wall post I couldn't resist sharing here (post a chuckle):

I love you with all my heart...but my butt is bigger.

Monday, September 05, 2011

The Baishe Srabon soundtrack

Kolkata seems to be hooked to Gobhire jao, aaro gobhire jao ever since the Baishe Srabon trailer made it to the virtual world, and especially after the August 27 music release.

Apart from this Rupankar song, Ekbar bol nei, tor keu nei, keu nei - written, composed and sung by Anupam is also catching on fast.

Liked the Anupamesque flavour (As a dear friend put it) in both the songs. Looking forward to the other songs from the Baishe Srabon soundtrack, written and composed by Anupam with voices like Rupam, Shreya, Raghab, Anindya and Saptarshi (Who sung the other version of Beche thakar gaan in Autograph). Hope Anupam lives up to his Autograph fame and grows with this film as a competent music director. His two songs (Written and composed) in Autograph are still so popular that they get featured in Friends FM weekly top 10 after nearly a year of their release. Had also loved Anupam's Bariye dao tomar haat and Classroom from Chalo Paltai, released earlier this year, that marked his debut as a full-fledged music director.

The aquatic meet

The annual aquatic meet at Lake Town Swimming Pool Association drew a huge number of members starting from small kids, and enthusiastic guardians on 4th September, Sunday morning.

It was cute to see teachers in the water helping 3-4 year olds in finishing their freestyle lap in the mini pool. This category didn't have winners. Each participant was given a medal, which was a nice gesture on the club's part.

The swimming den draws huge number of swimmers and swimming aspirants, being the best in the business in North-East Kolkata. The fees are reasonable. It sports two well-maintained pools - one main pool and one mini pool (for kids). Many members participate in competitive swimming at various levels.