Kolkata Korner

Washout
Little seems to be going right for Kolkata and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The15-month wait for a cricket match at Eden was bad enough. And when the BCCIfinally gifted a match to Kolkata after so many months, thanks to thepowers-that-be out here removing a certain Jagmohan Dalmiya from the CricketAssociation of Bengal (CAB), the weather gods played spoilsport and the skiesopened up. What’s worse, the downpour started a few minutes after ChiefMinister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee—an avid cricket fan who played no little rolein Dalmiya’s ouster—reached the stadium on Thursday to witness his favouriteSourav Ganguly in action. It appears that the divine powers haven’t approvedof the manner in which Dalmiya was removed from the CAB and the roleBhattacharjee played in the sordid drama.

Sorry Debut
Kolkata police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, who succeeded Dalmiya (thanks toBhattacharjee’s support) cut a very sorry figure indeed on Thursday. The ODIwas his acid test and he failed miserably. The smart shower (only 3.1 mmrainfall) on Thursday evening needn’t have led to an abandonment of the matchhad the CAB listened to the weather forecast and made adequate preparations. Itturned out that of the two super-soppers (machines that soak up water from thepitch) that the CAB has, only one was available at the Eden. Prasun’s excuse:he wasn’t aware of the weatherman’s dire forecast! This, when all those whowent to witness the match knew and were carrying umbrellas. Also, theunderground drainage system that could have carried off the rainwater wasclogged, thanks to lack of maintenance by the CAB. Prasun must shoulder theentire blame for this fiasco, as he must for the sorry state that the otherorganisation he presides over—the Kolkata Police—is in. But it’s not thathe’s unhappy—the CAB made a huge pile from the sale of tickets for thematch. And no one’s even talked of refunds.

Epicureans’ Delight
There’s fantastic news for all gourmands of Kolkata—Sky Room, that legendaryeatery on Park Street will re-open its doors a few months hence. Sky Room, whichopened in the mid-1950s, was the most famous restaurant of its time and, evennow, remains the most-talked about joint among Kolkatans who have migrated out.Its décor—a dark blue ceiling dotted with small lights, thus offering aglorious skyscape to a starry-eyed diner—and its delectable Continental dishessuch as prawn cocktail (this particular dish used to be flown down specially forMs Indira Gandhi to Delhi), chicken tetrazini, lobster thermidor and those yumdesserts like Baked Alaska and Black Forest pudding, as well as it excellentservice and relaxed atmosphere, has inspired many a tribute. Dining at Sky Roomwas always an occasion to look forward to and recount later; I remember thoseannual visits to Calcutta during our winter holidays never used to be completewithout a dinner at this restaurant. And when it closed in 1993, it broke manyhearts and even moved Bachi Karkaria to pen a moving farewell that brought tearsto all epicureans’ eyes. Now, it’ll re-open and, we’re promised by the newowners, the fare will not only be the same, but would taste exactly the same!

Crass Crowds
While on this, I must say that Park Street is no longer the preserve of theclasses any more. Walk into any restaurant (and all, mind you, are upmarket onesthere) and you’ll find that a sizeable section of those occupying the tablesaren’t really there for a fine dining experience. All they have is alcohol andchilli chicken (apparently a favourite), followed by fried rice or chowmein.Many of them, thanks to higher disposable incomes, are the sales reps sorts orare the petty contractors and building materials suppliers from the suburbs.Hey, I’m not a snob (in fact, quite the opposite), but the point is that withsuch customers around, the discerning ones who used to frequent Park Streetjoints and would contribute to the great ambience of such places, are moving outto other eateries scattered across and around Kolkata. I’m afraid if thistrend continues, the quality of Park Street’s restaurants will suffer—that’sbecause with customers who don’t know the difference, for example, between ablue rare and well-done steak, the chefs would no longer feel the need todeliver their best.

Cheap Thrills
Talking about restaurants and bars, a new menace has invaded Kolkata over thepast year or so. Dance bars. Those out-of-work girls from Mumbai have floodedthis city and many not-so-expensive bars that used to be decent watering holesserving interesting snacks have become crass and vulgar joints with loud musicpacked with lewd, middle aged and pot bellied men in safari suits gulping downtheir drinks, ogling at and cheering those nubile young things on stage. Theamount of money that these men shell out to the lip-syncing and dancing girls isamazing; I’m sure these very men would fly into a rage if their wives demandeven a tenth of that amount for some domestic needs! One wonders how the stateand city authorities are allowing this profusion of dance bars. Trade sourcestell me that other shady activities are afoot. I don’t want to sound or actlike the moral police; my concerns are more to do with our favourite (anddecent) watering holes being converted, one by one, to cheap bordellos. Won’twe be able to drink in peace any longer?

Book Fair?
A lot has been written (by me as well) on this topic. But I just can’t helpmaking this observation: the organizers of the book fair say the grounds of theSalt Lake Stadium where the fair will be held this time are too small and thesizes of stalls have been drastically reduced. Fine. And some permanent featureslike ‘Children’s Pavilion’, ‘Books of the Year Hall’ and the artists’corner—‘Monmarte’—have been axed due to shortage of space. Also fine.But the Food Pavilion will remain part of the fair. The reason? Without thisfacility, very few will go to the fair. And the organizers will stand to lose ahuge sum of money they’d have earned from the sale of entry tickets. Ha! Sowhat was all that talk about Kolkata being a city of booklovers and theculturally inclined? Truth be told, for an overwhelming majority of the visitorsto the Kolkata Book Fair, the event was just an outing, an opportunity to haveunhealthy junk food (that Bongs are so fond of), to tell neighbours and friendsthey’d been to the book fair and, while there, buy a comic or novel for lightreading at a discount. And they proudly call it a book fair!

Cold Again
Kolkata had bid adieu to the winters and just as we were bracing ourselves forthe inevitable hot and humid clime to follow, the mercury has dipped a bit.Thanks to the showers caused by what the weatherman tells us is a low-pressuretrough and cyclonic circulation. Whatever the reason, one can’t but thank theweather gods for this welcome break in the journey to onset of the summerseason. Like many Kolkatans, I had dry-cleaned, mothballed and packed away mywoolies. Only to bring them out again. This spell won’t last for much longer,but hey, aren’t we glad this happened? A last taste of the winters before weget to experience it ten months later.