Syncretic flavours of Calcutta

What is it about Nahoum���s and Nizam���s that draws to their doors so many of those who come to Calcutta in search of its essence? For some, Calcutta is all about nobility amid squalor, enlightenment amid poverty and other such socially and cinematically acceptable urban legends. For my family it���s all about food, and hence Nizam's and Nahoum's.

Hence it should not be surprising that a visit with my son to the city of his forefathers has led us to no less than four legendary eating places in two days. And all of them symbolise ��� at least for us ��� the essence of Calcutta, if not Kolkata. On the very first day, we headed for the comfortingly dim depths of Mocambo restaurant, tucking into sizzlers and tutti-frutti much like my husband and his twin sisters (one of whom was also with us) had done nearly five decades ago. Then it was across the road to Flury���s to buy chocolate boats and rumballs.

The next day saw us at Nahoum���s , the famous Jewish bakery in New Market , picking up -- in Calcutta���s uniquely syncretic radition -- a box of Easter buns and chocolate fudge candies, before heading to Nizam���s , the birthplace of the kathi roll, nearly a century ago. There are still a few days to go before we return to Delhi but still so many tastes left to revisit: rezala from Shiraz, r o a d s i d e p h u c h k a s , chicken cutlets at Saturday club, smoked hilsa at Bengal Club... And of course, age-old family specialities by our cook of 40 years!

That, for us, is the essence of Calcutta!