Shubho Sharadiya everyone! If you aren’t a Bengali, that roughly translates to happy Durga Puja, the biggest carnival/festival for Bengali people. I will be honest – the last couple of years has been strange to me – I cannot really equate it with being good/bad, because frankly speaking, I don’t know how it works. All I do know is that somehow I have been able to work with whatever life has thrown at me, and let life take care of the rest on my behalf. In the last six months, I have been working nonstop to create something, and I hope it all comes together, and I get to share some great news soon. But till then, fingers crossed.
I recently saw so many updates on social media from women who opened up about their past and the everyday misogyny that they face – I also see a number of apologists who keep on saying “not all women”, or “not all men”, etc., or how they personally haven’t faced it. I have been struggling with workplace sexism for years now – and it is terrible. My age, weight, beauty – every aspect of my life has been, at some point of time, under scrutiny, and I have been told things about myself that I didn’t know. The thing is, I am blunt enough to berate someone, and I am also blunt enough to be clear about things that might not be to my liking, and if idiots think otherwise, so be it.
Anyway, sorry about the little rant. I think it was building up for a while now, and I just needed to let go of it. But, on the other hand, the weather is changing rapidly, and I sort of feel cold in October, and I had to switch off the fan this morning and cover myself with a blanket. The weather seriously reminds me of end November – the time when I would have to go back to school after kalipujo, and my grandmother waking me up in the morning, the faint smell of burnt firecrackers mingling with the moist freshness of dewdrops, gathering on the tips of fallen leaves and grass.
The weather is now pleasant and perfect for pandal hopping, and as I lay on my bed today, I calculated the number of pujos I would be able to visit before leaving for my vacation. I am not going to miss the food, though. The last couple of days and my Mahalaya lunch put my rice-craving soul to rest for a while, and I am quite sure that I will not be craving for it much in Italy.
At Three Sixty Three, Oberoi Grand Kolkata, on Mahalaya, I had a long conversation with S, my college friend, and we reminisced over the days when we had no money and we were always hungry. The long walks to New Market, the grand celebrations that always would feature cheap, good food, and the everyday drama that would be an essential part of our college life seemed so far behind. I munched on my laupata posto paturi while S sneezed over her paturi, the pungency of the freshly pasted mustard thickly coating the sizeable portion Bhetki. The Ilish came next, and I forked some of the fish roe from S’s plate for official tasting purpose, not because I wanted to grab her portion at all!
The dimer devil was crunchy and meaty, and I regretted splitting it with IL the moment I took a bite, but I restrained myself, waiting for the huge array of other dishes to hit our table. AP had really put out all the stops for this seemingly never-ending meal, and I was a hapless twig, blown away by the furore. Angling for some much-needed rest between portions, a bowl of deep fried bitter gourd slices – crunchy, salty, bitter, with sips from a gingerale-laden mocktail gave me strength to polish off a considerable portion of chhanar paturi and kosha mangsho.
The Grand Pujor Mahabhoj, 2018 edition, ended on a really sweet note – with a huge plethora of sweets made in-house, and I have to admit, the kheer kodom and the malai chamcham were excellent, and I was especially happy to spot babu sandesh, something that is missing from many Bengali mishti shop nowadays – a relatively simple sweet that makes for a perfect ending to a good jolkhabar.
The Grand Pujo Mahabhoj Buffet is available from Saptami to Bijaya (16th to 19th October) lunch, and Saptami to Nabami (16th to 18th) dinner. It is priced at INR 2250/- plus tax, and ordering ilish will cost you extra at 300/- per portion consisting of one piece.
Disclaimer: Poorna Banerjee was invited to the Grand Pujo Mahabhoj scene by the management of Oberoi Grand.
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