The other day I was having a whatsapp chat with a cousin. She is a
Techie working in Mumbai. While we were casually discussing food, I mentioned a
plate of sumptuous Doi Cheeray (Curd with beaten rice and a bit of sugar) that I had in Bentinck
Street, Calcutta. She was astonished. "Doi Cheeray, that too in a roadside
stall? Are you kidding me?!" was her response.
She is no exception. Many people, unknown to the typical office para (Office area) food culture of this
city, would react in the same way. By street food I however do not mean the
usual thoroughfare like Phuchka, Jhaal muri, Bhelpuri, chaat. What I mean is
comprehensive meal. And that too at a very cheap price.
There are many alleys and footpaths in this mad city where food is an
eternal carnival. Chandni Chowk is one such hotspot.
Pressure mounting in mid week? No time for an elaborate lunch? Walk down
the LIC Gully of Chandni Chowk (An alley surrounded by LIC buildings) and meet
the most efficient Chowmein maker on earth! He handles atleast 5 customers at a time, and that too
with amicable patience. Every customer has his/her own demands. "Don't put
cabbage", "'Avoid the cucumbers". "Make it fresh with eggs
and soya, please". And this man, never gets confused. He will pack you the
much customized Chowmein that will leave you full and satisfied. And
with an add-on of 7/- you get a piece of boneless chilli chicken!
From Paratha to Luchi, From Chholey Bhaturey to Biriyani,
from Idli-Dosa to Litti Chokha, from Palak Paneer to Dim
kosha- you name it they have it. Every stall has its own fan-following.
Ever-thronging food stops, catering to thousands of hungry people. They do not
lose their temper, ever-smiling. Cooking, serving and calculating.
Multi-tasking at its best.
Wait! What are we missing here? Beverage and dessert? Chandni Chowk will
make you meet the Hooghly Sweetmen. They travel in local train carrying the
best sweets of Chandannagore and Chinsurah . If you have an intense sweet
tooth, you can even lunch on these mouth watering sweets. From milk-clad Roshomadhuri,
Nolen Gurer Rossogolla, Kaalojaam or the true-blue Bengali Malpoa- you'll be spoilt for choice. You gotta
rush to reach their stall. If the clock goes beyond 3pm, you will be greeted by
empty trays and empty bowls.
After a satiating lunch and dessert, burp with a glass of chilled lassi,
served in clay containers. And trust me, your hunger quenched, your mind
relaxed and your pocket would not even feel the pinch. In LIC Gully, or some
other criss-cross lanes & bylanes of Chandni Chowk – a medieval era lives
with pride. Money- no matter how little, is enough to feed you happy.
These busy nooks of old office areas- seem like an extended subsidised
roadside canteen- A melting pot, where the food vendor becomes your friend- A
not-so-commercial attitude where you are given food even if you run short of
cash. “Come back and pay the next day, didi”
says the alu paratha seller. “No half boiled egg today?” greets
the bread and egg vendor in the morning. “I have already kept aside your Malpoa”,
says the sweet-man as you go back to collect the parcel you left at his stall by
mistake.
It’s not just the cheap food, but
the cordial familiarity that grasps you, amazes you, and makes you fall into an
incorrigible love with the city. Did you mention hygiene? Trust me, with the
most faulty alimentary canal- I have never fallen sick. Neither have the
innumerable salivating Kolkatans!
Come take a walk in my city. You won’t be left unfed!
