1. Ordered some Bengali food from The Calcutta Club. The mochar cutlet and dhokar curry were good. The chop was also tasty. But personally the shukto was not what I was expecting. They have clearly modified the taste for a Bombay palate that doesn't like bitter. But shukto with plain rice is one of my favourite things
2. Work was peaceful. Or I ignored the hassle pretty well.
3. Papa told me an interesting story. When he was 15, he was traveling with a friend from somewhere to Calcutta. This was in the midst of the Bongal Kheda movement, an anti-Bengali movement that originated in Assam. (Whether was anti-Bengali or anti-Hindu or Brahmin Bengalis am not sure). A few stations before reaching Howrah, a group of men stormed into the train with swords and knives, attacking Bengalis. My dad had spent his early years in Mednapur, a place on the borders of Calcutta and Orissa. So he spoke both languages properly. When the armed group approached Papa, he spoke to them in Oriya asking them what the problem was. The group made some remarks about how ignorant the youth were and moved on. My father's friend had grown up in Cal and could only speak Bengali. Anyway, I was struck by a couple of things - one, this country has actually seen a time when being multilingual was life-saving, not just a good intellectual trait to keep in your kitty. The other thing was just how my father and his friends seemed to go around everywhere unsupervised or unaccompanied. He didn't grow up in a safer world. There were riots, mutiny, carnage, etc. But he would just go around with some equally footloose friend or classmate or cousin at the age of 6 or 8 and his companion was his age or maybe slightly older. I wonder if that's why my father overall believes that people do come around to help you. And that there is always more kindness among people who have less material possessions.
I really want to visit Kolkata with my father. Hopefully soon.
Okay. This is it for today. Will make some coffee, make my to-do list for the weekend, and get back to my book.
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