We were in Kolkata for a week to celebrate Durga Puja. Durga Puja is hectic and we needed a break from the celebration. This made us look for an alternative activity. West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation organises a host of tours in and around the city as well as all over the state. We went online and opted for an evening ferry tour on the Ganga.
Durga Puja in its Bengali form is well-known throughout the country now. There are more than a thousand Durga Pujas held in Delhi NCR. However, the Durga Puja flavour in Calcutta is different. It is very larger than life and can be over whelming. Yet it is a must-do and here is why.
Seafood is something people eat at home in Bengal. Till some time ago, it wasn’t a very popular dish that people ordered at restaurants. But then there are new twists to seafood, meat and chicken that aren’t staple in a Bengali household. For example – tribal and fusion styles of cooking. Santa’s Fantasea serves all that and during our recent trip to Kolkata, a friend’s treat was at this restaurant.
Ask any seafood fan in India and they would have an opinion on the Hilsa. People in West Bengal swear by their “Ilish”. It is there go-to item for any sort of celebration. We finally got our date with this delicacy in Delhi. Oh Calcutta! CyberHub is hosting “Hilsa Festival” till September 2018 but we couldn’t wait. We just had to do it last weekend.
Rabindranath Tagore’s birthday, Rabindra Jayanti, is being celebrated all over the country through his songs, poetry and other literary works. We attend Rabindra Jayanti in New Delhi every year. But this year we did it differently. We visited Tagore’s birth place Jorasanko in Kolkata.
An important aspect of travel is to try the local cuisine. But in an alien city, how to find a place that serves authentic regional food in a pleasant, clean ambiance and at reasonable prices? No wonder, a traveler is often baffled. We are making it easy for our Delhi-Fun-Dos readers. We recently visited “Sudipar Rannaghar”, a restaurant serving Bengali food in Kolkata and here is our account.
Wow! Momo has sprouted all over Delhi NCR. This is a Kolkata chain and they may launched concurrently in Kolkata and Delhi. But what on earth is with their momos?
PlaceofOrigin.in is a portal that sells famous local food. They carry a wide range of sweets, snacks, cheese, cereals etc. from various corners of India. It’s a real FunDo and our stomachs agree.
The Government of West Bengal has been organising an annual Mango Mela in Delhi that brings a host of varieties of mangoes from Bengal for us. In addition, handloom and crafts from Bengal and a mini food court selling Bengali sweets and other items rounds off the experience. Read on for details.
We were invited to watch Vamatara, a Bharatnatyam production by danseuse Malavika Sarukkai and her troupe, at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi in September, 2016. We recently had the opportunity of watching this production again at GD Birla Sabhaghar, Kolkata. The crisp production of little more than an hour was conceptualized as well as choreographed by the veteran artist.
It took some time for Bengali food to come out of the home kitchens to commercial spaces. There is no looking back since then and we find people from all over the country upbeat about trying out new Bengali dishes. Ki Hangla in Gurugram does just that. It has a long menu comprising popular as well as lesser known dishes of Bengali / Bangladeshi cuisines. We went the full hog during a recent dinner with Ki Hangla fare.
Durga Puja, an essentially Bengali festival is celebrated every autumn. The celebrations have travelled outside Bengal and consequently Delhi NCR hosts more than a thousand Durga Pujas. Here is an account of our experience.
The much published Bengali film Praktan was released last week. It is running in many multiplexes in Delhi – Gurgaon – Noida etc. The film has great camera work, nice music, English subtitles and very little Bengali hangover. This foresight smoothens the process of connecting with the world audience.
Biryani is a cult. Aficionados do not mind travelling cities to have the perfect biryani. This complete dish mostly comprising rice – meat – rose water – spices has evolved in various styles all over India.
Antigone, the Greek tragedy was presented at Kamani Auditorium at Bharat Rang Mahotsav. This is a socio-political play that is relevant given the mindless violence that we see around us. Socio-political theatre is not very common on Delhi NCR stages. Hence, braving the Tuesday evening peak hour traffic, we made it a point to watch this play.
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