We arrived in Calcutta around noon and although we were greeted by unseasonal rains, our spirits were in no way dampened. I was so excited to see my friend Shankhayan's Calcutta. Seeing some one's home, their friend-family-space-culture nexus, makes that person so much richer in teh viewer's eyes. Instant deep-end, all that history and old school laughter.
Jan, Violet, Shankhayan and I took a cinematic looking taxi all the way to Shey's parents place. I have come to not be shocked by the luxurious way that most Indian's treat their guests, but I was not prepared for the Bengali feast that was about to startle my senses.
Shankhayan's mother, a buzzing, flying, creative activist, who happens to be one of the sharpest and most stunning women I have met, also is an amazing cook. She prepared a 2-fish lunch, complete with all the essentials. Us 'n00bs' were instructed in the systematic eating order of Bengalis that goes from light to heavy, salty to sweet. First rice and sabzi (vegetables), then fish usually made with mustard oil that gives it a particularly royal bite, then meat if one has it (which doesn't include fish but does include crab..). Then, the sweets - not just dessert, but a home-made sugary daal, and a 'chutney' that is a watery soup made with fresh fruit pulp, special beganli olives, raisins, and some light spices. The dessert is a typically misthi dohi, a rich yogurt eaten from a terra-cotta pot.
It was absolutely impossible to stick to the food road map, our arms and hands were extensions of our taste buds, launching and diving excitedly at the lunch spread on the table. We messed up the order of things big time, and even destroyed some old principles about what goes together and what doesnt... mango mustard with eggs ? Hell yes!
soft sounds of living the high life:
2 A/C train, Kolkata to Delhi, non-stop I might add?
{a little girl whisphers to her mother in Panjabi and I understand, jingling of a train worker's key chain, Violet is crunching on an apple. We make completely random guesses about the apple's origins, calculative people making shots in the dark}
Jan, Violet, Me, Shankhayan's ma, Grandmother, and Father.
Amazing individuals, wonderful family, spectacular hosts.
