The Legends Behind Bengal's Famous Sweets

If you could float around above Kolkata on any given evening you would see thousands of Bengali sweet shops - from neon-emblazoned giants to dim holes-in-the-wall in blind alleys - thronged with sweet-besotted Kolkatans eating millions of sweets and buying even more. Of these shops, there are a handful that were part of the original wave. They were born in Calcutta's heyday in the 1800s, when a burst of intellectual flowering had invigorated every aspect of the city, from fine arts to business. These shops have defined the Bengali mishti while catering to the finicky Bengali sweet tooth they have witnessed Calcutta being buffeted by the winds of history while keeping their own character largely intact. This is their story.