19 replies to this topic

[jyotirmoy]

Christmas, New Year, Pithe Parbon (a festival when varieties of savories are made at home) bashes are just over and the citizens of the great metropolis of Kolkata are recuperating and preparing themselves for the 23rd. & 26th. January celebrations. The former is the birthday of the famous freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the later is the Republic day. This is one thing that is typical to the people of Kolkata, all of them are truly secular when festivals are concerned. Come Christmas every neighborhood shop is laden with cakes of all types. Even sweet shops make “Cake Sandesh” The bakers of Nahoum in the New Market cannot cope with the demand. Many believe that the Flury’s on Park Street plays a cruel joke by stopping its operation during this time as when ever they went they found empty shelves. The same crowd will feast on Biriyani & Rezzala on the eve of Bakr Idd. Antacids & digestives register record sales during the festivities. Another thing that is typical is a Kolkatan’s perennial trouble with bowel movements, always oscillating between too much of it and too less of it.

The whole city is basking in mellow sunshine of winter and its citizens going about daily chores in a highly contended manner. Whole city? Not really, one household located at the intersection of Central Avenue & Rajballav Para looks gloomy. It is like while the locality is glowing in the evening and only one home has a power cut. An uncanny silence shrouds the house. Gone are the days when neighbors bolted their windows shut when the lord of this house lent his voice to the songs of the recent Tollywood films. Also gone are the days when neighbors opened their windows wide while the lord and the lady of the house had a minor disagreement. But life has not come to a total stand still. Every morning one still sees Mukherjee Babu with his two jute bags, one for fish & the other for vegetables walking to the market. But he is not the same Mukherjee Babu, rather what is left of him. He passes the tea stall but never enters. His comrades had called out for him but were greeted with a vacant look. They had discussed the matter over numerous double half cups of tea and packs of Charminar. Even the potent combination of tea and Charminar failed. Different theories were postulated. From misplacing a wining lottery ticket to strange viruses, daughter’s elopement was excluded as Mukherjee babu had no daughter, neither he had a son living abroad who could marry a firanghee… in the end it was concluded that “Head office e gondogol” Trouble at the “head” office, a certain mental condition.
Mukherjee Babu returned from the market not in the same way as a man whose mantra is living for eating; he now displays an air of some one who only eats to live. The fish mongers have noticed it too. Dangling fresh Parsey(A mullet like fesh) did not evoke the same passion. Most of the time he bought Kata Pona(cut pieces of carp). The upstart neighbor of Mukherjee babu is going through acute depression being denied the pleasure of out biding Mukherjee babu and grabbing the prime Chitoler peti(the fatty belly of a river fish called Chitol) Even Hanuman Prasad, the erstwhile owner of the shop bearing the title of Shiv loker sherbet(Sherbet from the abode of Lord Shiva) licensed to sell Bhang sherbet missed Mukherjee babu very badly.
His friends had called his home, on every occasion the phone was picked up by the lady who informed them that Mukherjee Babu is not at home and would certainly be not at home when you call next time. Once Niyogi moshai called but couldn’t get past the first sentence “Ami Niyogi bolechi…” (I am Niyogi speaking), the call was rudely terminated.
Dutta ginni has acquired a new bracelet but her heart is being constantly gnawed. She has not been able to show it to Mukherjee ginni. What pleasure do you get from buying jewellery when you cannot flaunt it and relish the beholder’senvy? She can’t blame Mukherjee ginni. She herself is also repenting the evening out last month. Thinking about the past she found that every thing was going on so fine till Debnath introduced this Niyogi moshai. “sakkhat shonir ghore…” Shoni is Saturn and the influence of Saturn is believed to be damaging. And Batasha? Shame… shame she thought. On that scandalous moment when we hanged our heads in shame Batasha giggled and laughed. One thing did please her though that it was Mukherjee babu and not her husband.
Doctor Zivago. To hell with him. She wished that the novel were never written ‘cause if a novel is not written there can’t be a film based on it. And if a film is not made there is no title theme. But the cruel fact is that the novel was indeed penned and a film was indeed made with a haunting theme. Haunting of course. The happening on that fateful night will continue to haunt at least two families residing in this great city of Kolkata and the staffs who worked that shift in that hotel.

[dzibead]

To be continued ...

[noflylist]

I see an epic here!

[dzibead]

noflylist, on May 22 2007, 06:09 PM, said:

I see an epic here!

Ah, noflylist. You're new here! Check out THIS:

http://www.gourmetindia.com/travel/index.p...mp;hl=mukherjee

Enjoy!

[jyotirmoy]

Some things about Pithey Parbon:
Makar Sankranti, the harvest festival observed in Bengal, marks the sun's passage from Capricorn to Aquarius. During this colourful three - day festival, the community gets together to celebrate. At the centre of this festival are the Pithey or Pulis - sweets that make use of the basic agrarian ingredients of rice, coconut and jaggery made from date palm juice and in their multiple manifestations these are some of the earliest sweets that developed in Dravidian eastern India.
The feasting, starts with the ritualistic Nabanna(Nab=New, Anna=Rice, Nabanna=New rice) - a blending of uncooked harvest produce including rice, coconut and moong dal - and moving on to the main attraction, the Pitheys.
Following are some popular Pitheys.
Ashkay Pithe:
Traditionally the first variety of pithey that is made is the delicate an almost transluscent pancake. When ready it is eaten dipped in fresh date palm juice.
Ranga Alur Pithey:
A deep-fried rissole of sweet potato or yam filled with fresh moong beans ground with ginger and aniseed
Gokul Pithey:
An exquisite blending of tastes and textures with flour, khoa and raisins fried in ghee and dipped in syrup
Pulipitha:
A rich dough of wheat flour is stuffed with grated coconut, jaggery and creams, folded into a triangle and simmered in reduced milk flavoured with cardamoms.

[priya]

jyotirmoy, on May 23 2007, 09:11 AM, said:

Following are some popular Pitheys.
Ashkay Pithe:
Traditionally the first variety of pithey that is made is the delicate an almost transluscent pancake. When ready it is eaten dipped in fresh date palm juice.
Gokul Pithey:
An exquisite blending of tastes and textures with flour, khoa and raisins fried in ghee and dipped in syrup
Pulipitha:
A rich dough of wheat flour is stuffed with grated coconut, jaggery and creams, folded into a triangle and simmered in reduced milk flavoured with cardamoms.

OMG - these all sound scrumptious! I wonder if they would travel well??

Now to wait for the next instalment of Mukherjee Babu.

[jyotirmoy]

Try to recall how many times after an incident that you have thought if I did this or if I didn’t do that then…..
After having left the crew, the ginnis sat in the taxi and by the time the cab entered central avenue dark clouds of apprehension began to gather around the minds of the occupants of the cab. The first one to mutter out Eta ki bhalo holo? (Did we do the right thing?) was Dutta ginni. Mukherjee ginni also voiced her concern. “Oi sarboneshey loke ta ar Batasha….” That dangerous person and Batasha. A dangerous combo no doubt. While there are some persons who at the sight of gathering of dark clouds loose themselves in sinister thoughts there are some who jump to action. Our Mukherjee ginni is one member of the later group. “Ei roko roko….” Hey you stop right now she yelled at the driver. As such the decibel level of this mighty lady’s voice is 60dBA above the specified limit & when she yells another 40dB is added making it full 100dBA. Half a dozen cabs screeched to a halt as their drivers felt that the command has come from their clients. Such is Mukherjee ginni’s omnipresence !!!
“Phirot chalo…” Was the next command. Half a dozen cabs did a U-turn and sped off towards where they had picked up their fares much to the astonishment of their passengers.
As the cab sped back to Chowringhee, macabre thoughts started flashing. Getting back to Free school street in the evening rush takes time. However, the occupants of this particular cab were desperate souls. These are the souls who have just left their gullible husbands in the company of a fiend and in a locality where temptations look out of every nook & corner. All substances of indulgence are aplenty. What a fool we had been, thought these tormented souls. It was clearly a ploy devised by Paagla concluded Mukherjee ginni. And don’t forget Batasha, warned Dutta ginni. The only consolation they had was the presence of Debnath, a levelheaded person. But what can a far younger person what ever be the level of his head do when he holds his head among the august company of Niyogi moshai, Paagla and Batasha? “Ki dekhbo ki jani…” lamented Dutta ginni. God knows in what mess shall we find them. By this time, the cab reached the desired location and the occupants spilled out of its interior on the pavement with a thud that shook the ground. They didn’t have to search for long. The gang was spotted at a second hand music store where Paagla was admiring the jacket of an old vinyl. The ginnis heaved a sigh of relief or do our learned readers suspect a faint feeling of frustration for not catching their husbands red handed just before doing some thing unthinkable?
The first one to notice the materialisation of these ladies out of nowhere was our Debnath. “Eki apnara aber phire elen? Why have you people come back? By now, both Mukherjee babu and Dutta babu have also witnessed the manifestation. Daily in take of rich food and sweets and an undisturbed siesta after lunch while imbibing the contents of Ultarath (a film magazine immensely popular with the lunch laden siesta seekers of feminine gender) had steadily added to their bulk. Therefore, a joint manifestation of two such figures cannot escape ones eyes for long. Both Mukherjee babu & Dutta babu was completely bewildered. Not a drop of any intoxicating liquid had passed through their parched throats so far although the thought of entering the hallowed portals of New Cathay soon, minus their better halves did pass though many times. Was the craving the cause for this hallucination or was it a flash back of Dhatura spiked bhang trip wondered Mukherjee babu & Dutta babu. Finding them speechless Mukherjee ginni spoke. While traveling in the cab she had prepared herself with the choicest words & explicit that she would heap on her husband when caught red handed. She had rehearsed them many times and each time more vitriol was added until it was pure & extra strong vitriol. Since the prospect of finding them in such a benign act of admiring the jacket of an album at a second hand shop in Free School street hadn’t stuck her, she had no rehearsed reply to the obvious question of why they chose to come back. Those who have at any point in their lives come in to close interaction with the ginnis of Kolkata will agree that these breed of ladies are never at a loss for words. Words did tumble out of Mukherjee ginni in her characteristic decibel level informing them as well as many users of this street that while going back home they thought that cooking dinner at this time for so many people would be a very difficult task. In addition, Niyogi moshai, Paagla & Batasha are honoured guests so a simple menu wouldn’t be proper. “Aheli te cholona go…” Let us go to Aheli mewed & purred Dutta ginni. Very long & close association with her pet cats is responsible for her mewing & purring while asking for some favour. The mention of dinner & Aheli drew the attention of Niyogi moshai. “Katha ta mondo noy….” Its not a bad idea Niyogi moshai observed. It was seconded immediately by Debnath & Paagla. Batasha mentioned some thing called Peter Cat & Chello kababs but Paagla did not allow her to continue by saying “O sob agdoom bagdoom habi jabi chare to, aj pati Bangali maha bhoj hok….” Forget those crazy foods; let us have a pure Bengali feast. Debnath led the gang and soon we find the entourage approaching the Peerless Inn hotel. “You people go ahead and I will join you soon after buying a pack of Charminar” said Niyogi moshai. Niyogi moshai walked towards the Roxy hall with Paagla & Mukherjee babu in his wake. Mukherjee ginni led the rest of the entourage upstairs. Dutta ginni was purring with happiness, Batasha was seeing the merits behind Paagla’s comments, Dutta babu was relieved as he felt very awkward with knives & forks, Debnath was planning a practical joke targeting Batasha & our Mukherjee ginni was thinking of stuffing Mukherjee babu with enough Mocha(florets of banana flower), Enchor( green jackfruit ) and similar dishes which are extremely labourious & difficult to make at home so that her husband wouldn’t ask for these for quite some time. Although a table for eight would have sufficed for seven persons but for reasons mentioned earlier the maitre organized a table for ten. Dutta ginni forsook of her purring and emitted a growl when Batasha asked for the drinks menu and Dutta babu nodding in approval & admiration. The tide of time flowed in the cozy ambience of Aheli. The elegantly attired waiters attended the diners, the stewards explained the dishes to those not yet initiated. The subtle differences between “Jhol” and “Jhal”, “Chenchki” and “Chanchra”, “Kasha” and “Rasha” were explained in technical details. Debnath took a worried look at his watch & fidgeted slightly. Mukherjee ginni did the same, almost 25 minutes and no sign of them. She was getting worried and clouds dark & menacing were again beginning to gather when a waiter enquired whether they would drink regular water or mineral. The uttering of mineral water struck her like the proverbial bolt from the blue. Enlightenment came immediately following the lightning. What did the bottle of mineral water 3/4th. full which Niyogi moshai was carrying & jealously guarding actually contain? Every piece of the puzzle fell in to its own place. What a fiendish act she thought. She shot out of the restaurant leaving a vacuum behind her. A rolling boulder may not gather any moss but laws of physics tell us that it gathers momentum and momentum=Mass X Velocity. The mass represented by Mukherjee ginni multiplied by the velocity represented by her fear & haste did produce helluva lot of momentum. Now here is a practical advise to all our lady readers. If you are wearing high heels and choose to give the lift a miss since you are in such a hurry as our Mukherjee ginni was; take it easy on the stairs.
While the events within the confines of the hotel were taking place according to the laws of physics, events outside were following the laws of chemistry.

Foot notes:
Jhol is the most popular Bengali preparation. It is a light stew of fish with different varieties of diced vegetables. The vegetables used vary according to the season but potatoes are always used. It is eaten with steaming rice with a little lemon juice.

Jhal is a thickish fish dish where fish is cooked in a fiery gravy of freshly ground mustard paste, mustard oil, turmeric & chillies. Always eaten with rice.

Chencki is a light dry mix vegetable dish cooked with minimal spices. Mainly Panchforon is used for flavouring. It can be eaten with rice, roti or luchi.

Chanchra is a rich & oily mish mash of vegetables cooked with pieces of carp fish heads and fat. It is always eaten with rice.

Kasha means semidry. Mutton Kasha is an all time favourite for Bengalis.

Rasha means thick smooth gravy. Brinjals cooked with pungent mustard oil, tomatoes, ginger & green chillies is a popular winter dish.

[iwanttogoback]

welcome back mukherjee.

[dzibead]

I see that during the long absence of Our Heroes, some very good stories have been fermenting in the brains of our esteemed authors!

[noflylist]

Was MukherjeeBabu depressed because he found out that he was the illegitimate son of legendary Bengali actor Dadamuni Ashokkumar!!!

[priya]

Quote

While the events within the confines of the hotel were taking place according to the laws of physics, events outside were following the laws of chemistry.

Please don't keep us waiting too long........

[noflylist]

My uncle used to send Rasgoolahs in tin from Dhanbad in late 60s, you all have reminded me of that. Now someond describe a perfect Rasgoolah!

[jyotirmoy]

noflylist, on May 29 2007, 12:10 AM, said:

My uncle used to send Rasgoolahs in tin from Dhanbad in late 60s, you all have reminded me of that. Now someond describe a perfect Rasgoolah!

A decent rosogolla can pass thru a ring without breaking. And as usual the proof lies in.....

[dzibead]

I think it's time we heard more about Mukherjee Babu and the rosogollas. Hint, hint ...

[jyotirmoy]

I have taken a day off today to report what happened at Peerless Inn.

[jyotirmoy]

Ok veterans can skip this part but for non-veterans it is the fact that when you imbibe high proof Vodka neat on empty stomach the Vodka doesn’t remain in the stomach, riding the high-speed arteries it travels to the head office. Once it has made its presence at the head office it begins some funny activities. While the ginnis sat & engaged in small talk, out side the hotel Niyogi moshai’s mineral water bottle did its rounds. Mukherjee babu wiped his mouth and appeared visibly grateful. A pleasant glow of warmth engulfed his body. Any euphoric substance when consumed first results in suppression of inhibition and the consumer is prone to indulge in things that he/she likes subconsciously. It is not only Mukherjee babu in whose body & mind the Vodka was working. Niyogi moshai likes music & more than that he likes to believe that he can actually sing. An euphoric Niyogi moshai started humming Lara’s theme. Our Mukherjee babu is also a music lover & he joined in with “Tra la lala… la la la la lala….” Niyogi moshai added “La ley lala lal lal laaaaa…” Paagla accompanied the vocalists with his whistling. The happy trio made their way back to the hotel. While they were approaching the glass revolving door with Mukherjee babu leading, Mukherjee ginni landed in the lobby like an avalanche causing bell boys & other guests scurrying for getting away from her flow. Just when Mukherjee babu with his “La la lala laley laley la lal..” was stepping in to the door with a sort of a dance step to get in, his better half ploughed in to go out. The revolving door took a violent spin………..

[Luckywoman]

Was Mukherjee babu splashed by the spinning door? Or fell his better half right in his arms?

[jyotirmoy]

Veterans will agree that rapid ingestion of alcohol can often lead to suggestive hallucination. The singing of Lara’s theme made the hotel lobby appeared as an enormous ball room to our Mukherjee babu. Chandeliers were really there to complete the picture. Mukherjee babu shot out from the spinning revolving door along with his ginni. Holding her firmly Mukherjee babu began to dance. The lanky lobby pianist who was till now brooding over his piano jumped to action. With further vocal support by Niyogi moshai and Debnath it was beginning to get real classical. Mukherjee gini tried her best to disentangle herself but nearly 200ml of high proof Vodka is some thing.

The checking in guests, the checking out guests and the whiling away in the lobby guests thought that there was some kind of local festivity, some thing like Valentine. Not to miss the fun quite a few couples took the floor. From the elevator emerged a huge bearded man lugging a saxophone and a frail wife. Depositing his frail soprano wife with the choir of Niyogi moshai & Debnath, the saxophonist positioned himself behind the pianist. The pianist thought “Kar mukh dekhe aj uthechi baba”… whose face did I glimpse after waking up today. With renewed vigour the pianist joined the saxophonist.

The high decibel sound began to spread to the higher floors as well as beyond the revolving door which was still revolving. Few more couples descended and another few drifted in along with some curious onlookers. Sensing things quickly going out of control the front desk manger rang the head of security. At this moment the head of security was having a quiet chat with the head matron of the housekeeping wing over tea. The phone call irritated him no doubt but duty is duty. Assuring her that he would be back asap he left to investigate.

With hands thrust in his trouser pockets he tried to take stock of the prevailing situation. His grooming school had taught him how to handle difficult guests, violent guests, hold ups, shoot outs, peaceful demonstrations, loot, arson… every thing, but he was at a loss to classify what was going on in to any of the mentioned categories and take appropriate action as per the books. In spite of trying hard he felt a bit jolly himself. Looking at the dancing couples his thoughts turned to the head matron of the housekeeping wing. The waiters appeared better trained. With flutes of champagnes on trays and the bill books they were to be seen everywhere and registering brisk sale.

Veterans will remember that after the intense euphoria there comes a stage where the knee begins to turn to jelly and the head follows the rotation of the earth. Our Mukherjee babu was just passing on to this stage when Mukherjee ginni with a violent pull finally disentangled herself from her husband. We had already learnt about the vocal strength of this lady. With a loud yell she grabbed Mukherjee babu by the lapel of his coat and dragged him out through the revolving door. After the echoes of her yell died down there was deadly silence.

Niyogi moshai, Debnath, Dutta babu, Dutta ginni & Batasha had a solemn dinner of Pabda paramaditya, Dab Chingri, Ilish paturi Rice, luchi and Roshomadhuri.

[dzibead]

Did this scene take place at the Oberoi Grand? (The fanciest hotel I ever stayed at - by accident! - in India!)

[jyotirmoy]

The event took place at the Peerless Inn Hotel quite close to Oberoi Grand. The Aheli restaurant at this hotel serves the finest Bengali cuisine.

The Grand hotel is some kind of an institution in Kolkata and in my opinion it is one of the great hotels of India, specially known for the personalised service that it provides.