July 30, 2007

The Bong Connection

No!

It's not another film review!


I visited Chittaranjan Park after ages yesterday. Mostly I'd just cross by the market and pick up someone and get out of there. Some times I'd go to drop people in the dead of nigh. Mostly I would just pass through but yesterday was different. A friend, Bong if you please and she's OK with the nomenclature so don't get red in the face, just shifted and I was driving Ms. Daisy around while she was picking up stuff for her new place.

My friend suggested that I should try some Calcutta style Gol Gappas (sorry still can't get used to Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai and as far as Bengaluru goes...let's just forget it). I decided to do just that for it had been years since I tried the real deal. Finding space to park one's car is an adventure in itself these days and why should CR Park be any different; it took me fifteen minutes before I found a place.

It was a Sunday and the market was buzzing with activity and taking the center stage were the ubiquitous food stalls. . The Cal style of Gol Gappas or Phuchka's. As most of you'd know, is very different form what we get here. Potatoes, spices, tamarind and other such crazy things are kneaded together with the gol gappa water and that's what makes it different. The waiting period for your turn to be served takes anywhere between 10 to 15 minutes. while I was cooling my heels and waiting, I looked around and saw nothing else but food. the natty little market has everything that Calcutta could offer ,to eat, that is. A small world onto itself, my friend commented that this is Cal but soon retracted to say that there's no tree next to the gol gappas stall for in Cal a dude roams around serving you. I gently told her that the obvious, 'You aint' in Cal'

With so much to eat- Momos, Chinese, rolls, chaat, sweets and even the chinese chaat (dry Chinese dishes served with chaat masala)- my friend couldn't help but make a sweeping statement, "This race (Bongs) eats so much!" I don't disagree totally but there's more to Bengali food than just sweets and chaats. I tried looking around for a place that would serve regular Bengali food, not too much of a fan but love that aroma of fish cooked in mustard oil. What are the other options to sample some Bong food? Thanks to Google I chanced upon this article.

Other than that CR Park offers Bengali DVD's and chaos in addition to an online community called crpark.net!

2 Responses to “The Bong Connection”

  • oh...so this is how sunday was spent!! we thought u had other plans :)
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/movies/30cnd-bergman.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1185803357-DYEW7n1e+dPbkAqXIUpIaw

    Read this and thought of you, sorry not connected to your post but had to send it to you...

    How goes?

    Love,

    T.
  • Post a Comment

    Visitors