A Very Happy New Year to all my readers! It has been quite a long sabbatical. The year started for me with quite a bang! 😃 A long-awaited, much-needed vacation break to my all-time favorite place, Goa, 🌊 followed by the excitement of everything opening, with the pandemic hopefully becoming an endemic! However, the best news is that I just came back from my hometown Kolkata! Sneaking time in between sonny’s Boards to attend a family wedding. Now I am back with some drooling yumminess once again! 😌
Speaking of the wedding, it was the manna to the stressful pile-up of the past few years of seclusion and boredom. I drifted far apart from the family ever so gradually, since the years following the mid-nineties, when I left Kolkata. 🥺 This misconception was thoroughly demolished as soon as my travel plans got revealed! 🥰
At face value, it was just a hectic few days. Personally, it was my sustenance fuel, filled with love, laughter, happiness and FOOD! I Landed in Kolkata after almost five years. However, snailing through the morning traffic and utterly enjoying the uneven ride in an almost vintage Ambassador taxi, I was somewhat glad that nothing much had changed in the City of Joy: “Kolikata ache Kolikatatei.” 😊
As I made my way to my ancestral home, through the narrow by-lanes of residential Kolkata; old, weather-beaten steeped to the neck with the history of several generations, I was engulfed in gripping nostalgia of my growing years. I reached my destination to be greeted by the warmth of spontaneous affection and the years of separation instantly vanished, as if by the magical wave of a fairy’s wand.
Where else in the world would one expect a pleasantly, surprise visit from a family friend (a sister indeed 🥰) dropping in, on a busy, weekday afternoon, just to make your welcome to the city a bit more special?!
Sipping from a cup of hot and aromatic Darjeeling tea and endlessly chatting with Maa and Boromama (elder maternal uncle). I realized I was literally Home at last!
The next few days were a whirlwind of activities and family commitments but when you start the day with the light and crispy Kochuris, complimented with spicy aloor torkari from Adi Haridas Modak or juicy, crispy Jalebis and Singara (Bengali Samosa) from Surendranath Mishtanna Bhandar and a strong cup of ginger tea made to perfection by Maa’s right hand, Tushi: the chef de maître d’ of the household, 😎 you are all set for ACTION!
Adi Haridas Modak’s Kochuri and Alur Torkari
A Bong wedding is an elaborate affair. This one was a bit modified in order to adjust the busy work schedule and time limitations of both the bride and groom (my kiddo brother) and the scattered invitees all across the globe. I lived and relived every moment of my childhood days during the evening addas which were highlighted with core-achingly hilarious anecdotes by chotomamu and shejomamu (youngest and the second youngest maternal uncles) along with a yummy selection of munchies and dinner. 😋
I have to make a small confession though, I did manage to relish my high-teas with Mitra Café’s special Diamond Fish Fry and the famous Alur Chops, opposite Shyambazar Metro in spite of all the hogging going on! 🤤
One of the focal points of this trip was a small detour to Subhash Gram, the abode of my darling, Chotomashi (youngest maternal aunt). She had most willing devoted most of her maiden time, dutifully playing the role of the most reliable babysitter to all her nieces and nephews. She was our fondest maashi, cum mother, a teacher, an entertainer and a friend whichever way we needed her. The short visit to her beautiful house adorned by the bounty of mango trees, greenery and birds was a soothing contrast from the excitement of my jam-packed trip. The afternoon was spent, laughing with maashi, getting to know my sweet cousin-in-law outside WhatsApp, and devouring homemade jhaal muri.
Choto Mashi and Maa
The Reception day feast was a gala representation of Bengal on a plate! The menu was rich in every flavor and had an array of scrumptious vegetarian and non-vegetarian choices. A free-flowing, happy party, oozing with genuine hospitality. As I sat back a little to ponder slightly over some baked Rosogolla and the company of my beloved family around me, I felt a twinge of bitter-sweet emotions gnawing at my heart. Wish all were there…😔
Brothers, Sisters, Mamas, Newly Weds, Sis & Bro in Laws, Niece and Nephews
The pleasant, homely, informal, uninhabited wedding get-together not only brought back unaccounted happy memories but also served as a complete soul-detox for me. I came back to Mumbai healed and restored, 😇 and also made myself a promise to visit Kolkata once again, very soon to meet all the loved ones I missed out on this time. However, that is not all… I brought back a heavy, enticingly, aromatic Cabin luggage, full of Nolen Gurer Sandesh, a few quarters of Golbarir Kosha Mangsho, Hakka Chow and Chilly Chicken from Tangra (Kolkata’s China Town) and Tel Koi (a typical Bengal fish curry) made by non-other than maa! A bag full of love and lip-smacking taste of my hometown! 😄 💕
