DRINK LIKE A FREEDOM FIGHTER IN KOLKATA
To Suddhabrata Deb of It’s in Asia, the Hungry Roads walk, in Kolkata, is as much about snacking as it is about time travel. “Small portions of food with large portions of cultural history,” he says. “We start at Shyambazaar, where a lot of the food is vegetarian, something that always surprises people.” Next is the iconic College Street for cutlets at Dilkhusha Cabin.
“People are often surprised to learn that, even about 70 years ago, eating chicken was considered a sin among Bengali Hindus. Mutton was part of ritual sacrifices, but chicken was a strange idea brought over by the British. So the restaurants that served it covered the doorway in curtains and had the word cabin in their name.” At the 101-year-old Paramount Cold Drinks & Syrups, walkers are told how — to combat the British tea culture (they wanted a new market, so they were pushing tea over traditional drinks) — the legendary chemist and industrialist Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray invented daaber sharbat, a beverage made with tender coconut water whose formula is still a closely guarded secret. It remains one of the most popular items on the menu.
Next is Favourite Cabin, believed to be Kolkata’s oldest tea shop, a 101-year-old establishment where Masterda Surya Sen, the teacher turned rebel leader, planned for the freedom struggle with his compatriots.
The three-hour walk then goes through Chitpur, stopping for biryani and sandesh, and ending at one of Kolkata’s old Chinese areas, Tiretta Bazaar.