(Kolkata) Biryani is life-affirming

A little incentive can go a long way. And what can be better proof of the pudding than biryani, Kolkata-style biryani, to be precise, with its mandatory aloo'n'egg introduced by the last king of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah, when exiled by the bland- dished Brits to Kolkata's outskirts in 1856. Earlier this week, a 40-year-old Kolkata businessman, beset with financial and familial problems, threatened to jump from a bridge. But...

...he had second thoughts. It was not family or friends that cajoled him down, but the quick-thinking Kolkata Police who, in their own CSI way, know that the way to a man's desire to live is through his palate. After the cops reached the site, it was past lunch hour, usually the most satisfactory hours for any Kolkata soul-cum-stomach. Enough KYC-type information about the man was acquired from his distraught daughter. One can be sure this included food choices, considering the man was a resident of Kolkata, so automatically a gourmand carrying an antacid in his pocket. The rescue team offered a plate of piping hot biryani from a top restaurant. The man didn't - couldn't - refuse. While clambering up a bridge or water tank is pretty popular when it comes to threatening suicide - in 2020, UP locked entries to tops of water tanks to stop attempts - this incident shows what we always knew: Kolkata biryani is life-affirming.