Strolling around college :)

Would take the metro station to college. And while the Park Street stop was also an option, I'd mainly opt for the 'Maidan' stop, as did most of the other college students.

Our major hangouts were the coffee-shops. Barista on Park Street was was my least favourite, Cafe Coffee Day on nearby Rawdon Street was quite nice, but our fave was the homely li'l Cafe Coffee Pai on Camac Street. So, I took Premankur here the time we were touring Park Street, and I tried out the yummy chocolate shake.

Gosh, their onion rings were to die for! :)

Right next to Coffee Pai was the Malgudi Junction - South Indian fare, with the best filter coffee in that area! And yes, I appreciated it all the more, after my Chennai stint! :)


Shakespeare Sarani used to be called Theatre Road. Unlike the other roads, though, which have horrendous modern names and gorgeous old names, this one has cuteness for both its names! Something divine about clubbing Shakespeare and 'sarani' (Bengali for 'road') together, and Theatre Road also sounds very... yummy. :) Anyhow, right at the junction of Theatre Road/ Shakespeare Sarani and Camac Street, you have the mall known only as Number 22, Camac Street. We used to hang out at the coffee shop here quite a lot too, and my fave was of course the Sizzling Brownie. :)


For a touch of traditional cuisine, Krishna's on Camac Street has some of the best north Indian sweets in Calcutta, all very attractively packed in their silver-blue matkas; and of course - the best puchka/ gol gappa/ paani puri is to be found right on your street corner. The guy down there is in front of Vardaan AC Market at Camac Street. (Taking a break from brisk business!)

Buladi says Goodbye

Bula-di is, or rather, was the West Bengal government's campaign face against HIV. The 2 year old campaign has been withdrawn now, owing to a paucity of funds, but it has had an amazing effect as far as enhancing knowledge of HIV and AIDS is concerned, in both urban and rural areas of the state. According to the WB State A Prevention and Control Society, around 9000 people have reportedly been infected by HIV since 1986, with another 4900 living with AIDS. The problem is: while the Buladi campaign will be taken off the billboards, the TV and radio slots, the government agency is not sure what its going to do next here. Ouch.

And, yes, while I was snapping pictures of Buladi on Park Street, Premankur was munching on a (hold your breath) date sandwich. I dunno about you, but I've never heard of a date sandwich! :) O, and he also does corn sandwiches. *grin* Corny boy.

Star Track

The Indian Idol selections were going on at Calcutta, while I was there, and I tagged along with Premankur for his interview with judge Alisha Chinai. Also present were Udit Narayan and Anu Malik, both of whom insisted on hamming it up for the TV crews by singing in their nasal voices.

Aaa, but Alisha...!

Alisha's an Indian Idol!
Have completely loved her ever since she did 'Made in India' and it was great to actually see her in the flesh. She's called the Indian Madonna and all, so of course Premankur asked her about her 'reinvention techniques'. He started off with a silly "you're looking gorgeous today", that had her blushing and giggling, (even though her black harem pants with zippers and the big clunky boots were o-so-weird!), and then of course, our intrepid reporter proceeded to grill her about other matters... including the fact that she's now working with Anu Malik, against whom she had filed a Sexual Harassment charge in the 90s....!


Ooooo... gossip! :)

chowringhee road

Welcome to Chowringhee Avenue, or Jawaharlal Nehru Road as the Municipal papers and no one else calls it. :) This is arguably one of the first roads of Calcutta - not just a thoroughfare today, but pretty much 'the heart' of the city. And, yes, it has traffic snarls, now and then - but thanks to the brand new flyover, these have been reduced greatly.

Was walking down the road at dusk, and here are some of the sights that struck me -

Elliot Park: Inaugurated by CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, it's got your usual 'dancing fountains' at night, and a beautiful lake in the midde, surrounded by landscaped gardens.

Eden Over Maidan: Green expanse of the Maidan - often called Central Calcutta's 'lungs' - and way over on the other side, you can see the towering spotlights of the Eden Gardens Stadium. The maidan is dotted with cricket and football clubs, not to mention the usual lovers. :)

Three-in-one: The dome of the MP Birla Planetarium, in front of which the statue of Indira Gandhi bows - she has probably never looked this humble in her life! :) Far behind, to the right, you can see the spire of St Paul's Cathedral surfacing from the green cover.

Menagerie: Toy birds laid out on a white sheet in ront of one of the office buildings at Chowringhee.

The famous white pants: Premankur's pants - nicked from his mum. In white corduroy. He insists, his mum had men's pants made for herself. :)

Remake of the Decade!

Flury's on Park Street was always a city landmark for the fashionable and the tasteful and the jetset. Only thing, it used to be a tattered part of history-landmark, and more of a place where you would go to remember the 'good ole days' of Flury's gone by. The waiters were terribly slow and hard of hearing, the paint was peeling off, but the mergingues-with-cream was still one-of-a-kind, as was Flury's itself. But again - it was a visit merely for the sake of a nod to history.

So, imagine my utter surprise when I set foot inside the all-new Flury's, the other day. The old world charm is still there, but the paint is spic-and-span, the waiters are amazingly crisp and know their fare well, the food is as good as ever, and there is an air of newfound prosperity. No more, the old visit at the end of which you left feeling sad...

Flury's was spankin' new! ... and shining...!


So, on my first visit there with Premankur the other day, I ordered old favourites Viennese coffee (they don't make it like this anywhere else, oustide Vienna, trust me!) and their trademark chocolate boat. The meringues are off the menu though, but these two were more than enough to make me not feel sooo sad! :)

And while I took some nice snaps of the chandeliers overhead and the interesting mosaic tiling on the wall panels, I also noticed their Easter Bunny is out - time for some de-lish Easter eggs too! :)



Premankur and I took these snaps because we are - quite simply - "vain morons". It's a private joke! :) But we look damn great at Flury's! :)


While the new Flury's has a new tagline also - Five Generations of Fine Confection - this is upheld in their new centre: T3, or The Tea Table, across the street from it. This is where they've shifted all the old furniture - and even the old waiters. As my uncle said, T3 is where the old-timer customers of Flury's go - to go back to the old days when they snapped at the waiters and whiled away centu

Coconut Factory at Dalhousie

Coconut Water - nothing exclusively Bengali about it, unless you say it the Bong way: daaber jol. :)

I hate daaber jol!

As you can see, Premankur quite loves the stuff.

Fairy Colours

Like the shot of the guy through the toys, in the snap below. Smile, you're on Candid Camera...!

Of course, the lady down there doesn't look like she's in a very smiling mood. It's all work and no play here at the KGF - sell, sell, sell some more! :)


Kites at the 'Bombay Project'. By the way, Rajat hates me calling it KGF. :)

No Black Horse Anymore, But Still... !

Music to the ears: Apart from the Festival, Kaala Ghoda is an excellent place to hang out at. Even though the original statute of the black horse ('kaala ghoda') has been sifted out eons ago to make room for a (gasp!) car parking lot, this place abounds in... charm. And that's personified the most perhaps by Rhythm House, bang on Rampart Row: this is where you will find possibly the most exhaustive music collection anywhere in Bombay - it's practically a heritage institution of the city!

Also on the list of KG institutions is the David Sassoon Library, facing the square where the old statue used to be. This area is also completely littered with grand old buildings, continuing right onto VT and the Fort area...

Completely yummy for my camera...! :) Rajat was screaming at me while I stopped every five minutes to click. :)

And from the square, you can see the great big dome of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum (also the Prince of Wales Museum) a stone's throw away. On my agenda to go inside sometime soon, hopefully...


Rajat up there, grumpily posing before the Museum.

Saddi Dilli

Welcome to Delhi, and I thought this was the best opening pic I could ever come up with. :) Delhi's Devils is this really snooty bar in South Extension, Delhi, which I believe is highly expensive and not very good, but the name is just brilliant.

Meet Delhi's Devils then - Valay the cynically bitchy designer-in-the-making, Sharon who is Bombay's most valuable export to Delhi (on loan only) and Stephen the backpacker extraordinaire.

And yes, with the exception of the one on top, they all stole my hat on successive occassions. :)

Say hello to the Megalomaniacs

Well, Sharon darling and I never make any bones about it. First afternoon in Delhi, and we hitch a ride to Connaught Place (metro: Rajiv Chawk - I mean, WTF is up with that?!) and start snapping pics, prior to/during/ after our lunch at Pizza Hut.