Does anyone recollect the Calcutta of old?

Calcutta has been renamed Kolkata and, along with a new name, the Calcutta of old has lost many of its landmarks and charms.
Does anyone recollect the Calcutta where marketing on the occasion of Durga Puja used to be in the Harlalka opposite Medical College or in the India Silk House on College Street or the Kamalalaya Stores on Dharamtolla Street? In those days, this Kamalalaya Stores was the only departmental store where one could get lost for the whole day, without realizing it. It stocked every conceivable object from safety pins to suitcases and had a Section devoted to toys and also wonderful refreshment room – a visit to both these was a must after completion of purchases. The purchases would automatically move to the Centralized Delivery counter located at the exit. In those days, very people owned cars and the uniformed guard at the gate would hail a taxi for you, if you so desired.
Does anyone recollect that purchase of new footwear for Pujas would be kept in abeyance till the day when all the latest designs and prices were disclosed on the last page of leading newspapers?
Does anyone recollect a park called Wellington Square where Political parties would organize meetings on Saturdays? Or the Hawkers’ corners in Shyambazar and Gariahat meant usually for those with shoe string budgets?
Does anyone recollect trudging along to see the Durga idols at the Headquarters of the Fire Brigade or the one at Beadon Street? Both were famous for innovative designs – I still remember the idol of the Fire Brigade where Asura was depicted as kneeling down in front of Devi Durga and pleading with outstretched arms for mercy.
Or the idols at Beadon Street modeled in lines of Ajanta frescos and the celebrations at Baghbazar where the fair was an added attraction.
Of course, there existed a great cultural divide between residents of the North and the South. Whilst the former were more conservative, their counterparts were more liberal, progressive and advanced. Soon after the release of that beautiful cinema ‘Hatari’, a restaurant of the same name sprung up on Rash Behari Avenue and became an instant hit. It would be patronized by the youth of both North and South. Subsequently, this divide kept growing, especially with people from other parts of the country preferring to settle down in pockets of South Calcutta. There were Malayalees, Maharastrians and Bangaloreans. Kolkata welcomed all of them with outstretched arms and, from them, emerged luminaries like Usha Uthup, Thankomani Kutty, Derek O’Brien and Dr. N. Vishwanathan.
Kolkata today has an underground rail system and above the ground it is a maze of shopping malls, flyovers and potholes. It has undergone change in color from red to a mix of blue, white and green but these are not indications of change in character or culture of the city. The roads get waterlogged even now, as it used to sixty years ago.
Does anyone recollect that song – ‘the ladies of Calcutta…’ sung by Peter Sellers in the film ‘the Millionairess’?

Trying to relive Kolkata – from Hatibagan to Dalhousie via Shyambazar

After my tour of Kolkata from Hatibagan to Esplanade, I decided to travel in the opposite direction – namely, from Hatibagan to Dalhousie Square via Shyambazar. Since I had spent a portion of my childhood in the Shyambazar area, this trip brought back many fond memories. Since the metro rail had not disturbed the surroundings, the locality maintained the old life charms but the cinema halls that used to once bustle with activities were relics. The footpaths were occupied by hawkers and pedestrians had to use the roads. Moreover, the once busy Cornwallis Street had been converted to a one way street to ease the flow of traffic. Since there was no possibility of widening of the road, making it one-way was the best solution.
The tram depot was still intact and trams did ply – if only the tram routes had been kept alive, it would have been a boon to the commuters but, the trams plied only in a few selected routes.
When I came to the famous five-point crossing at Shyambazar, I looked around and saw the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the center of the crossing, he was on horseback.
I took a left turn to Bhupen Bose Avenue and boarded a bus that was to go to Dalhousie Square – the place where most of the offices of the government, the eastern railway and the Police Headquarters at Lalbazar were located.
It was a relatively smooth ride through Chittaranjan Avenue till the rear portion of the Medical College when the bus encountered a jam and, after waiting for a while, the bus driver decided to take a diversion that took the bus to a lane next to the gate of Lalbazar. Then it went ahead and parked in the terminus where I got down and began the long walk to Esplanade. I passed through the portals of the Great Eastern Hotel and, keeping the Governor’s House on my right, I took the turning towards K C Das – the brand famous for its Rosogollas. I did peep in but discovered that the interiors had changed completely.
Finally, I crossed over to the Metro cinema on Chowringhee Road – this cinema house was another landmark of Kolkata and it was practically in ruins. The pavement was occupied by hawkers who sold anything under the sun from foreign scents and sunglasses to foreign chocolates and wristwatches. And then there were the women who offered themselves to others to earn a living – they solicited customers openly at the bus stands through their touts.
I discovered that prosperity brings with it hordes of other associated problems that have to be accepted as a fallout of changes.

Winter and fast foods like green peas kachuri are inseparable

Winter arrives with an abundance of vegetables and most versatile among them are the farm fresh green peas – not the refrigerated ones that are available all throughout the year in shopping malls but lack the twang of the fresh ones. Research has revealed that the health benefits of green peas are many.
Anyway, green peas in Bengal are held in high esteem by all fast food lovers because expert cooks can transform these into tasty morsels and would have a tough time to avoid the continuous pestering by its lovers for more and more.
The transformation of green peas into kadai shutir kachuri is usually in one of two methods – in the first one, the peas are not mashed totally but left half smashed. In the second variety, the peas are mashed into a paste.
The green peas are fist shelled and then boiled. Depending on which variety is chosen, the boiled peas are either half mashed or made into a paste in a food processor – tiny slices of ginger and green chilies are added along with with sauf (fennel seeds) during the grinding operation, salt is added for taste.
This mixture is then slightly fried with garam masala powder and is ready for the next stage namely stuffing the mixture in the dough made of flour and converting them into flat, round chapati shaped ready-to-fry objects. The diameter should be approximately three inches and the kachuris are ready for frying.
For frying, add sufficient oil in the pan, heat id to boil and immerse the kachuris so that they sink to the bottom and again swell and rise. Turn them over till they acquire a brownish tinge remove from the pan. Place on a sieve to drain away any excess oil and the kachuri is ready to serve. Mustard sauce (kasundi) goes well with this preparation.
The other variety is with half mashed peas – in this case, the filling is made with ingredients as above. Only, the dough is made into balls and the half mashed peas are stuffed into the balls which are then deep fried in oil or ghee. These used to be a brand of Dwarik Ghosh of Shyambazar – the heavenly smell of the ghee would attract the customers from afar and, the quantities on offer would finish too quickly. Customers would have to return disappointed at times.
Incidentally, a ready-made variety of green peas kachuri has entered the market – it is a powder, supposedly of green peas with spices included, that is mixed with the dough, rolled into puri-like roundals, deep fried and served.