HAPPY HALLOWE'EN
Monday 31st October
Gals and ghouls get ready for Hallowe'en
Fly to my rooftop at 8 p.m. tonight
For a moonlit Party
The original Elvis Presley Heartbreak Hotel
@ Block G 419 New Alipore
The Bride of Frankenstein will greet you at the door
If you're lost, call gypsy girl Mobila on 9830014934
She'll consult her crystal ball and foresee a good time for all
Cross her palms with silver (Rs.100)
And abandon hope all ye enter!
Beware of dolls and rum punches!
Wear a disguise or we'll make you a costume!
The Hallowe’en Hash Bash was a real hoot as you can see in the pictures taken by Andy on http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/
ph/gwuandresm/album?.dir=/8b38&.src=ph&.tok=phQZJ4DBypZI7C3z
A big thanks to June Tomkyn’s son in law Rodney for organizing the karaoke and music system and for keeping us entertained. Everyone got into the spirit of things and Madhuri made her favourite rum punch. To set the mood was Francois fiancée or rather the Bride of Frankenstein on the staircase and the babies that were hung on the terrace. Nitish came as a gorilla, Rachna as a skull and bones, Afroz and Nil came as pirates, Andy as a drive-by shoot-out victim, Peter came back to front like in Exorcist and Tony and his friends came as terrorists. There were carnival dancers and gypsies and guys in golden shoes! We were 42 people on the terrace and everyone enjoyed the chopped finger dips, pull-ow, and dinner prepared by mom, the bobbing for rasogollas and the Kookie Jar cake brought by Tony and friends.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Park Street cemetery and Scottish Cemetery - Breakfast at The Tea Table
The Sunday on the eve of Hallowe’en, Siddique took us to the Park Street cemetery and the Scottish cemetery. So hashers met at 7:30 in front of our Hash sign outside the gate of the Park Street cemetery situated near Assembly of God Church.
The visit to the Park Street cemetery had us looking for bleeding graves and at snail bushes and giant bee hives. We then went for breakfast to T3. We passed the small joints selling halim for Eid. At breakfast at T3 Andy was sad that he would miss celebrating Hallowe’en this year so we decided to have an impromptu Hallowe’en Hash Bash at my place with Halim ordered by Siddique. We bumped into Jhuma Basak also having breakfast there and she told us about her coming dance theatre Verse Dance.
The Sunday on the eve of Hallowe’en, Siddique took us to the Park Street cemetery and the Scottish cemetery. So hashers met at 7:30 in front of our Hash sign outside the gate of the Park Street cemetery situated near Assembly of God Church.
The visit to the Park Street cemetery had us looking for bleeding graves and at snail bushes and giant bee hives. We then went for breakfast to T3. We passed the small joints selling halim for Eid. At breakfast at T3 Andy was sad that he would miss celebrating Hallowe’en this year so we decided to have an impromptu Hallowe’en Hash Bash at my place with Halim ordered by Siddique. We bumped into Jhuma Basak also having breakfast there and she told us about her coming dance theatre Verse Dance.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Millennium Park to Park Street breakfast at T3 The Tea Table (the old Flury’s)
13 hashers met at the Millennium Park and walked down to Park Street to have breakfast at another old worlde eatery, the old Flury’s which has shifted across the road to Park Mansions and is now called T3 The Tea Table I think. Shaun Kenworthy is leaving Flury’s at the end of this month.
13 hashers met at the Millennium Park and walked down to Park Street to have breakfast at another old worlde eatery, the old Flury’s which has shifted across the road to Park Mansions and is now called T3 The Tea Table I think. Shaun Kenworthy is leaving Flury’s at the end of this month.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Durga Puja Triumph of Good over Evil
It was decided to do Breakfast first at Taj Bengal at 7:30 then do the pandals in New Alipore and Behala as I was not sure how long that would take with everyone wanting to take lots of photographs... but the mutiny at the breakfast table by the Demonic Doc left me mutinous. We could have easily visited the pandals I had in mind, as dismantling a whole fort in the middle of New Alipore takes time. Wanja and I had stumbled upon this Lal Quila on one of our pandal hopping jags and we’ve been back to it 4 times including last Sunday Lakhi Purnima /full moon night(just to prove that the pandal was very much there) and in place of the large scale Durga Protima/idol we saw a small Lakshmi thakur and the solitary priest softly reciting his mantras late into the night. Leila and Mark Elliott have taken loads of pictures.
The Group decided at the breakfast table to go instead to a garden. The Maha Doc decreed The Botanics, the others mooted the horticultural gardens on Peter’s doorstep. I was sitting at another table with Himanshu, Leila and Wanja. We were delayed getting to the Taj because I wanted to show Himanshu the 10 foot tall African doll in the stairwell of my house, that Francois had bought from the Bose Pukur Sitala Mandir pandal which was a recreation of a South African Ndebele village. We had visited it in Tony’s car with Wanja, Francois, Yvonnick, and Chiru on the Tuesday morning when we met once again in front of the HSBC on Rash Behari Crossing to take hashers to the pandals in North Calcutta. We negotiated a bride price for the giant putul/doll and Francois was transported with delight, while I had to organize the thankless task of transporting the thing to my house on Bisarjan day.
Wanja, who wouldn’t miss a hash in Cal as she enjoys reading all about it while rotting in Ranchi, was late surfacing on Sunday morning. We’d had a hectic day in Shantiniketan on Saturday with the crowd from the Bisarjan boat cruise on Thursday -Tony, Siddiqui, Mayank, Chiru, Mark McLean, Leila, Wanja and others who were ready to make the Saturday return trip to Shantiniketan by train. Wanja, Leila and I had gone with Rahul in his car, listening to lovely Spanish, Arabic, and even Swahili lounge music that thrilled Wanja no end. Therefore we were in the mood to dance into the early hours at Roxy with half French Half Tunisian Leila showing us the belly dance followed by late supper at Jai Hind dhaba.
The reason I’m writing all these details is because I never got to the Hash on Sunday as after a hurried and harried breakfast, no one told me that we weren’t going to the Botanical but to the Horticultural Gardens!
Having persuaded Himanshu to drive all the way to the Botanic Gardens on the promise that Leila would hold his hand and point out the names of all the flowers (did you know that the “Mother” in Pondicherry has given her own spiritual names to special flowers?), something that I should also do as despite numerous hashes with Bonani, I have still to master any botanical names! After taking him for a ride last Sunday, now I’ll probably never be able to con-vince Himanshu to come to a hash. So if you’d seen my face at the Botanics after asking the guards whether the foreigners in orange had come and gone, and been told they’d never arrived, you’d have seen the wrath of Durga!
It was decided to do Breakfast first at Taj Bengal at 7:30 then do the pandals in New Alipore and Behala as I was not sure how long that would take with everyone wanting to take lots of photographs... but the mutiny at the breakfast table by the Demonic Doc left me mutinous. We could have easily visited the pandals I had in mind, as dismantling a whole fort in the middle of New Alipore takes time. Wanja and I had stumbled upon this Lal Quila on one of our pandal hopping jags and we’ve been back to it 4 times including last Sunday Lakhi Purnima /full moon night(just to prove that the pandal was very much there) and in place of the large scale Durga Protima/idol we saw a small Lakshmi thakur and the solitary priest softly reciting his mantras late into the night. Leila and Mark Elliott have taken loads of pictures.
The Group decided at the breakfast table to go instead to a garden. The Maha Doc decreed The Botanics, the others mooted the horticultural gardens on Peter’s doorstep. I was sitting at another table with Himanshu, Leila and Wanja. We were delayed getting to the Taj because I wanted to show Himanshu the 10 foot tall African doll in the stairwell of my house, that Francois had bought from the Bose Pukur Sitala Mandir pandal which was a recreation of a South African Ndebele village. We had visited it in Tony’s car with Wanja, Francois, Yvonnick, and Chiru on the Tuesday morning when we met once again in front of the HSBC on Rash Behari Crossing to take hashers to the pandals in North Calcutta. We negotiated a bride price for the giant putul/doll and Francois was transported with delight, while I had to organize the thankless task of transporting the thing to my house on Bisarjan day.
Wanja, who wouldn’t miss a hash in Cal as she enjoys reading all about it while rotting in Ranchi, was late surfacing on Sunday morning. We’d had a hectic day in Shantiniketan on Saturday with the crowd from the Bisarjan boat cruise on Thursday -Tony, Siddiqui, Mayank, Chiru, Mark McLean, Leila, Wanja and others who were ready to make the Saturday return trip to Shantiniketan by train. Wanja, Leila and I had gone with Rahul in his car, listening to lovely Spanish, Arabic, and even Swahili lounge music that thrilled Wanja no end. Therefore we were in the mood to dance into the early hours at Roxy with half French Half Tunisian Leila showing us the belly dance followed by late supper at Jai Hind dhaba.
The reason I’m writing all these details is because I never got to the Hash on Sunday as after a hurried and harried breakfast, no one told me that we weren’t going to the Botanical but to the Horticultural Gardens!
Having persuaded Himanshu to drive all the way to the Botanic Gardens on the promise that Leila would hold his hand and point out the names of all the flowers (did you know that the “Mother” in Pondicherry has given her own spiritual names to special flowers?), something that I should also do as despite numerous hashes with Bonani, I have still to master any botanical names! After taking him for a ride last Sunday, now I’ll probably never be able to con-vince Himanshu to come to a hash. So if you’d seen my face at the Botanics after asking the guards whether the foreigners in orange had come and gone, and been told they’d never arrived, you’d have seen the wrath of Durga!
Sunday, October 09, 2005
DURGA PUJA Parikrama /Pandal Hopping - Maha Bhog at Kewpie's
www.anandautsav.com
Here’s a website to consult to find out all you’ve ever wanted to know about Durga Puja. You’ll get the music, puja clippings, pictures of Kumartulli and the legend of Durga… You can even send e cards saying Shubho Bijoya…
We started the Pujas early on Sunday morning. We met at 7:30 in front of HSBC Kalighat crossing and proceeded to see some Pujas in South Calcutta - Shiv Mandir to Mudiali. The real Puja experts, Martin and Mark also joined us. Doc was away at his family Puja on Sunday. Himanshu was in Delhi. On the bandwagon was Peter, Rosie, Sid, Tony, Francois and Yvonnick. We then had breakfast at Taj Bengal and then did some more Pujas in Kidderpore and Behala and the TARA best Musical Para Puja at Kudghat where we saw Santal dancing and a Bengali Band. Yvonnick, Howard & Shanti, Peter & Rosie, Francois, Siddique, Tony, George and Wanja went to Kewpie's after pandal hopping to have the Maha Bhog.
This is Shaun’s review of Kewpie’s that he wrote for a magazine probably. Have made a few corrections – Shaun, I prefer clay pot to mud cup and it’s betel not beetle! After Francois’s description of the ampora green mango sarbat no one was keen to try it but everyone enjoyed whatever I’d ordered of vegetarian dishes mostly preparations of Mocha or banana trunk and posto/poppy seeds and all kinds of fish.
"This restaurant is every Bengalis dream when it comes to good hearty, wholesome Bengali khanna. Situated just off one of the small roads on Elgin road, this home-style restaurant never looks the same twice. There are 3 dining rooms that can all be hired for group bookings. Uneven white washed walls, a good private collection of paintings, simple linen covered tables, blood red napkins, a hand carved wooden upright cabinet, full of glass ware and even a sideboard in the corner. It’s got charm coming out of its ears……. You could almost be walking into a small chateau dining room somewhere. A hotch potch of mismatched tables and chairs. Add the finishing touches. So anyway, you sit down, you get your menu with all the Bengali favourites, kosha mangsho, deshi chicken, paturi, daab chingri, begun posto, enchor kalia to name but a few. We ordered a basic platter, consisting of gobindobhog bhaat with ghee, a couple of fresh luchi, alur dom, dal and bhaja. I also ordered the dab chingri, deshi chicken, kasha mangso, paturi, palang chaanar kofta, doi potol and a couple of ampora sharbot. All the preparations are simply served and homely. Clay glasses, plates and bowls, all add to the effect. Which is what makes this place so wonderful. So out comes the food, I ordered far too much. The basic plate of food comes on a clay plate, draped with a banana leaf with a couple of small bowls, one filled with the alur dom and another with dal. Then, all the other food came out, one after the other in small dishes to make this huge array of temptation. Well cooked rice, a nice large round piece of fried brinjal, 2 light and crisp freshly cooked luchi, a tasty alur dom and a good not too thick or thin dal. A good mustardy style preparation of dab chingri, a few knuckles of well cooked mutton, an excellent home style chicken curry, the best preparation, I’ve had of doi potol and finally superb kofta in a rich cinnamon tasting gravy. Couldn’t eat it all. My eyes are obviously bigger than my belly as my mother would have said. To finish with and also in with the basic platter, there was the inevitable papad with chutney, a clay pot of not too rich mishti doi, a little piece of sandesh and a betel leaf of misti paan. In fact, I ate both paans, as I couldn’t resist. Doesn’t seem that long ago since I ate my first paan and thought it tasted like mouthwash……..yet three and a half years in India, how times change…… So, just to sum up the whole thing. for me personally, it’s the jewel in the crown when it comes to Bengali restaurants in Kolkata. Everything about it oozes warmth and homeliness. A refreshing change from all the modernity that surrounds us. Great aromas and friendly service, all add to the whole experience."
– Shaun Kenworthy shaunchef@yahoo.co.uk
www.anandautsav.com
Here’s a website to consult to find out all you’ve ever wanted to know about Durga Puja. You’ll get the music, puja clippings, pictures of Kumartulli and the legend of Durga… You can even send e cards saying Shubho Bijoya…
We started the Pujas early on Sunday morning. We met at 7:30 in front of HSBC Kalighat crossing and proceeded to see some Pujas in South Calcutta - Shiv Mandir to Mudiali. The real Puja experts, Martin and Mark also joined us. Doc was away at his family Puja on Sunday. Himanshu was in Delhi. On the bandwagon was Peter, Rosie, Sid, Tony, Francois and Yvonnick. We then had breakfast at Taj Bengal and then did some more Pujas in Kidderpore and Behala and the TARA best Musical Para Puja at Kudghat where we saw Santal dancing and a Bengali Band. Yvonnick, Howard & Shanti, Peter & Rosie, Francois, Siddique, Tony, George and Wanja went to Kewpie's after pandal hopping to have the Maha Bhog.
This is Shaun’s review of Kewpie’s that he wrote for a magazine probably. Have made a few corrections – Shaun, I prefer clay pot to mud cup and it’s betel not beetle! After Francois’s description of the ampora green mango sarbat no one was keen to try it but everyone enjoyed whatever I’d ordered of vegetarian dishes mostly preparations of Mocha or banana trunk and posto/poppy seeds and all kinds of fish.
"This restaurant is every Bengalis dream when it comes to good hearty, wholesome Bengali khanna. Situated just off one of the small roads on Elgin road, this home-style restaurant never looks the same twice. There are 3 dining rooms that can all be hired for group bookings. Uneven white washed walls, a good private collection of paintings, simple linen covered tables, blood red napkins, a hand carved wooden upright cabinet, full of glass ware and even a sideboard in the corner. It’s got charm coming out of its ears……. You could almost be walking into a small chateau dining room somewhere. A hotch potch of mismatched tables and chairs. Add the finishing touches. So anyway, you sit down, you get your menu with all the Bengali favourites, kosha mangsho, deshi chicken, paturi, daab chingri, begun posto, enchor kalia to name but a few. We ordered a basic platter, consisting of gobindobhog bhaat with ghee, a couple of fresh luchi, alur dom, dal and bhaja. I also ordered the dab chingri, deshi chicken, kasha mangso, paturi, palang chaanar kofta, doi potol and a couple of ampora sharbot. All the preparations are simply served and homely. Clay glasses, plates and bowls, all add to the effect. Which is what makes this place so wonderful. So out comes the food, I ordered far too much. The basic plate of food comes on a clay plate, draped with a banana leaf with a couple of small bowls, one filled with the alur dom and another with dal. Then, all the other food came out, one after the other in small dishes to make this huge array of temptation. Well cooked rice, a nice large round piece of fried brinjal, 2 light and crisp freshly cooked luchi, a tasty alur dom and a good not too thick or thin dal. A good mustardy style preparation of dab chingri, a few knuckles of well cooked mutton, an excellent home style chicken curry, the best preparation, I’ve had of doi potol and finally superb kofta in a rich cinnamon tasting gravy. Couldn’t eat it all. My eyes are obviously bigger than my belly as my mother would have said. To finish with and also in with the basic platter, there was the inevitable papad with chutney, a clay pot of not too rich mishti doi, a little piece of sandesh and a betel leaf of misti paan. In fact, I ate both paans, as I couldn’t resist. Doesn’t seem that long ago since I ate my first paan and thought it tasted like mouthwash……..yet three and a half years in India, how times change…… So, just to sum up the whole thing. for me personally, it’s the jewel in the crown when it comes to Bengali restaurants in Kolkata. Everything about it oozes warmth and homeliness. A refreshing change from all the modernity that surrounds us. Great aromas and friendly service, all add to the whole experience."
– Shaun Kenworthy shaunchef@yahoo.co.uk
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Indian Coffee House - Buddhist temple - Thakurdalans
This Sunday, we decided we should continue our cultural rambles in the North during this festive season. No point unnecessarily courting Dengue in the Botanic gardens. We met at 9am in front of Statesman House to have breakfast at the Indian Coffee House in order to visit the Buddhist temple and library off College Street as well as several thakur dalans, one with winged mercurys in the courtyard…
We joined three of the square tables at the Indian Coffee House to seat the hashers. It was Barry, Twila, Rosie, Paurush, Francois, Himanshu’s first time to the coffee house. The Indian Coffee House, that doesn’t serve tea, opens its portals at 9 am. I phoned in advance to see if they’d be open on 2nd October, a National Holiday because of Gandhiji’s B’day. Having missed the entrance to College Street between the School of Tropical Medicine and School of Hygiene we took an illegal u turn at the Mahatma Gandhi Metro station with tiled Mural of Gandhiji. It was my serendipitous Sunday hash homage to Gandhiji!
The Indian Coffee House originally known as Albert Hall is now a cooperative and the bearers in turbans had me write down our complicated breakfast orders of scrambled egg on toast, mutton omelettes, the very popular adda snack of pakoras, bread, toast, chicken sandwiches, egg sandwiches and trays of coffee and black coffee called Infusion.
There was some confusion about Moghlai parathas and fans of these olde worlde eateries may have to go back to sample that another afternoon as well as the cheap paratha kasha Mangsho along with the Kochuri and Daal or luchi aludam at Putiram beside the Calcutta Corporation building behind the College Square tank.
The pandal around the water body is huge by any standards and Francois hared off to take a look at the bamboo scaffolding and swimming area. Overlooking it is the Mahabodhi Society with its Buddhist Vihara where we admired the statues, gongs and other relics. We then walked to the Radha Nath Mullick Lane to see residences of the Basu Mullick family with their typical Thakurdalans. The bonedi bari pujas are always open house so anyone can walk into the courtyards during morning anjali and evening aarti. We then made our way back to the cars past Hare school aka Hindu College or Presidency College which this year celebrated 150 years.
The main days of the Puja are Shashti –Monday 10th, Saptami Tuesday 11th. Ashtami/ Nabami Wednesday 12th, Dashami Thursday 13th.
The hash group will also organize pandal hopping with a Bengali lunch and a bisarjan cruise organised by Chiru, his yearly boatride to see the Belur Math immersion.
This Sunday, we decided we should continue our cultural rambles in the North during this festive season. No point unnecessarily courting Dengue in the Botanic gardens. We met at 9am in front of Statesman House to have breakfast at the Indian Coffee House in order to visit the Buddhist temple and library off College Street as well as several thakur dalans, one with winged mercurys in the courtyard…
We joined three of the square tables at the Indian Coffee House to seat the hashers. It was Barry, Twila, Rosie, Paurush, Francois, Himanshu’s first time to the coffee house. The Indian Coffee House, that doesn’t serve tea, opens its portals at 9 am. I phoned in advance to see if they’d be open on 2nd October, a National Holiday because of Gandhiji’s B’day. Having missed the entrance to College Street between the School of Tropical Medicine and School of Hygiene we took an illegal u turn at the Mahatma Gandhi Metro station with tiled Mural of Gandhiji. It was my serendipitous Sunday hash homage to Gandhiji!
The Indian Coffee House originally known as Albert Hall is now a cooperative and the bearers in turbans had me write down our complicated breakfast orders of scrambled egg on toast, mutton omelettes, the very popular adda snack of pakoras, bread, toast, chicken sandwiches, egg sandwiches and trays of coffee and black coffee called Infusion.
There was some confusion about Moghlai parathas and fans of these olde worlde eateries may have to go back to sample that another afternoon as well as the cheap paratha kasha Mangsho along with the Kochuri and Daal or luchi aludam at Putiram beside the Calcutta Corporation building behind the College Square tank.
The pandal around the water body is huge by any standards and Francois hared off to take a look at the bamboo scaffolding and swimming area. Overlooking it is the Mahabodhi Society with its Buddhist Vihara where we admired the statues, gongs and other relics. We then walked to the Radha Nath Mullick Lane to see residences of the Basu Mullick family with their typical Thakurdalans. The bonedi bari pujas are always open house so anyone can walk into the courtyards during morning anjali and evening aarti. We then made our way back to the cars past Hare school aka Hindu College or Presidency College which this year celebrated 150 years.
The main days of the Puja are Shashti –Monday 10th, Saptami Tuesday 11th. Ashtami/ Nabami Wednesday 12th, Dashami Thursday 13th.
The hash group will also organize pandal hopping with a Bengali lunch and a bisarjan cruise organised by Chiru, his yearly boatride to see the Belur Math immersion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)