Kolkata

Work sojourn - 2 nights - Kolkata - I was in.

Best part of the whole affair is that the flight is direct; you fly from home and you land at home. My grandfather has worked in Kokata (erstwhile Calcutta), my father has worked in Kolkata as have a few of my cousins. Since my early days, whenever there used to be some news or some sighting on TV of English Royal family, my father would refer to queen as my TAAI. For a while, I lived scantily believing that we had some rishtedaari with royal family of England.

So there is the connect - however never thought of or felt motivated to visit the West Bengal capital. The impressions that I have had is that Bengalis are an intelligent lot, good with art and music; that industry is scarce in WB due to communist ideology and relatable face for me was Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet. That my cousins wife is from WB and my friend Tejas is from WB. Distorted it might be - but thats all I had about Kolkata in my head as we landed.

Victoria Monument

New Town is a clean and green place - many a times the impression was of it not being India but some South East Asian country. The buildings adorned different kinds of art and were not dull looking concrete blocks, walls filled with graffiti - very colourful. Visited the famous Victoria monument and was blown by its grandeur and enormity of construction, that too a century before not to mention made possible by the contribution of THE PRINCES AND PEOPLES OF INDIA. What power and money can make people do - one wonders ! One wonders what the thought process of principal promoter of monument would be, who would tax people to build a stone collection for a lady gone by, whom all I had known about thus far was from the movie - Victoria & Abdul. While splendid construction it is, the English did have the best of this sone ki chidiya.

Mr. Kohli’s spot

Onwards it was to the famous Howrah, wherein we jostled with locals in heat and sweat as my companion was hell bent on ferry ride across the Hoogly River. Six rupees up and six rupees down, the ride was done and dusted. Hunger and Beer pangs happened soon thereafter, and we asked our cab driver to take us to a decent spot - which to his best of intellect was HINDUSTHAN RESTAURANT & BAR at Lindsay Street. Interiors belied the outlook of the joint and we were soon munching and gulping. The service guys reckoned we were Punjabis, so implored their owner who was also in the premises to meet us. Mr. Kohli had come to Calcutta 50 years ago; hailing from Sialkot in Pakistan, he worked hard to own several of such places alongwith a flourishing catering business. Taking his leave, Mr. Kohli very graciously invited us as his guests in evening when the place would peak in pomp and show. Having said a few times, we thanked him for the offer fully aware that we wont be able to make it.

Breakfast

I can say I have been a few places and stayed at a few properties, yet Fairfield by Marriott stood a mile out in their breakfast lay compared to all others. Never ever have I seen a dutch oven filled with veg Maggi and hot Gulab Jamuns in breakfast outlay - both being my highly rated, I gave chefs a run for the money. Quite a sight it was with people lining up for fruits and so called healthy options and here I was with a plateful of Maggi and Gulab Jamuns and an apathetic glee I cannot describe.

Thank You Kolkata - when I shall think of you I will feel positive; I had a good trip.