When I mentioned ‘C’ being the letter of the day, my sexagenarian father announced – it is going to be either Cha (tea) or coffee. That is how addicted I’m to both these hot beverages – coffee for winter and tea for the whole year. But that’s for another day. From the legendary Coffee house on the paradise of book lovers – College Street (also known as Boi para), the royal Cooch Behar palace, the famous Chau Dance of Purulia to the historic Calcutta University established in 1857, I had quite a handful of options. But what made to the featured section today were two parts of Kolkata discovered during two entirely different phase – Chandni Chowk and China Town.
Chandni Chowk –
Situated in the central part of Kolkata, this place is primarily famous for two things – the gigantic Chandni market and old world restaurants. Chandni market is the hub for any kind of electronic items. From table lamps to cctv, everything is available here. The roadside hawker stalls as well as the shops have stocks of electronic items, specially Chinese ones that could give any conglomerate a run for money. Despite a booming e-commerce sector, the market has neither lost its charm nor appeal. However one definitely needs to brush up on their bargaining skills before venturing out to buy anything from here.
This area is also house to a lot of eateries – Sabir’s hotel being the most famous among them. Their vintage mutton rezala to be eaten with roti/Naan is still irreplaceable.
China Town –
Continue reading “A dollop of Bengal – from Chandni Chowk to China Town”
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