Sundeep Bhutoria

Big event, bigger responsibilities

2012-02-26T09:35:00.003+05:30

Welcoming Shri Md Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India

For the past three weeks I was engrossed in the three-day Agyeya Birth Centenary Celebrations which concluded on Thursday at the historic National Library in Kolkata. The Vice President of India, Md Hamid Ansari, was the chief guest of the event that was attended by about 50 leading scholars from across the country.
I have, in the past, many times dealt with events and issues pertaining to the visit of VVIPs and I was fully aware of the marathon exercise that entails any programme involving them.
The Government formalities, clearances, protocols and issues related to security at the highest levels (Z + category) are very stringent due to the security scenario in the country. Anyway, the processes are very lengthy and and a test of stamina and patience. It is very comprehensive and also very exhausting.
Firstly, the organisation and the person involved has to get clearances from a multitude of departments and security agencies of the state government. Once that is sent to the state government, the VVIPs' consent or confirmation of participating in the event is taken.
But once the process of formalities starts, the hosts, at every stage, realises that it is a tough job to involve VVIPs in functions as one has to comply with strict guidelines and rules, mostly pertaining to the security aspects.
For example, at the advanced security liaison (ASL) meeting, one has to to answer a series of queries down to the minute details as the officials have to do their duty, considering all aspects, with a fine-tooth comb. Where will the wires from the Television AV vans lead to? What will happen if the lift stops working? What if there are more cars than the premises can accommodate? If tea is offered to the VVIPs who will make it? What if there are more media persons at the venue ? What if they come in front of the Stage? And so on.
I wish to distribute 1500 cards to include all the state ministers, bureaucrats and other invitees. But I was allowed to issue the same number of cards as the seating capacity of the auditorium. I don't think any social event in this country has a 100 per cent turnout or attendance. I was cocksure that half of my hall would be empty. So I had to hire another hall available at National Library ground floor, put up a projector and organise for another 200 seats in lieu of which I was allowed to issue 200 more cards.
At the end of the day the number of people who visited the function tallied with my estimate as did the media turnout. The another hall, where the 200 chairs were laid, was empty. It is true that the Government departments have their own set of rules and formalities to comply with, but there has to be a practical approach for such things.
However, it was a proud privilege to have the Vice President of the Republic of India at an event. This event would not have been possible without the support of the two dozen Government departments who looks into the smallest details. This also gives you a feeling that Why not! After all the Vice President is the numero two man in the country of over a billion people.
I am leaving Kolkata this weekend and will miss the Celebrating Calcutta Awards celebrations hosted by Jyoti Khaitan, Sanjay Budhia and Renu Roy.

ess bee

Kolkata hosts Agyeya Centenary Celebrations

2012-02-23T18:30:00.026+05:30

VP Hamid Ansari, Governor, M K Narayanan and Firhad Hakim, MLA

Thursday, February 23, 2012: I was busy with the Agyeya Centenary Celebrations organised by Prabha Khaitan Foundation, in collaboration with Sahitya Academy and Raza Foundation, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (February 21^stto 23^rd).

About 50 scholars from across the country participated including, Arvindakshan - Wardha, Ashok Vajpeyi-Delhi, Chandrakant Tripathi-Agra, Giriraj Kishore-Kanpur, Kedar Nath Singh-Varanasi, Madhav Chaturvedi-Delhi, Madhukar Upadhyay-Delhi, Mridula Garg-Delhi, Om Thanvi-Delhi, Pankaj Bisth-Delhi, Prayag Shukla-Delhi, Rajendra Upadhyay-Delhi, Ramesh Mehta-Jammu, Ramsaran Joshi-Nagpur, Tribhuvan -Jaipur, Viswanath Prasad Tiwari-Gorakhpur, were in Kolkata for the same and the scholars from Kolkata who participated Kripashankar Chaubey, Shri Krishna Bihari Mishra, Shri Mritunjay Kumar Singh, IPS, Neelkamal, Shambhu Nath, Vimlesh Tripathi and others.

There were three different sessions besides the main function which was graced by none other than the Vice President of India, His Excellency., Shri M Hamid Ansari, Shri M K Narayanan, H.E. The Governor of West Bengal, Shri Firhad Hakim, Minister Of Urban Development, Shri Hari Mohan Bangur, Shri Ashok Vajpeyi, Executive Trustee, The Raza Foundation, Shri Sunil Gangopadhyay, President,Sahitya Akademi, Prof Kedarnath Singh, Shri Om Thanvi, Editor, and myself were there on the dais.

This three-day event took place at the historical premises of the National Library. The National Library, located on a 30-acre of green patch in the city's heart, is one of the largest libraries in Asia and the largest library of India in volumes and for public record under the Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Government of India.

There were quite a few heated discussions among the scholars at the panel discussions.

I felt happy that Kolkata has hosted such an important historical event in Hindi literature as Kedarnath Singh said, “In the past three centuries the country hasn't seen a Hindi programme of this scale and stature.”

The person I missed in this whole event was Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, who is not only a Rajya Sabha MP and one of the country’s top cultural personality, but also the wife of Sachhidananda Vatsyayan ‘Agyeya’.
She is personally known to me. I have great respect for her and really looked forward hoping she would grace the event. She wrote a letter to me which was read out in the main function. In the letter she wrote about Agyeya's connection with Kolkata, “It will be recalled that Shri S H Vatsyayan came to Kolkata soon after his period of imprisonment in the mid-thirties, to take up the editorship of Vishal Bharat at the request of the late Pandit Banarsidas Chaturvedi. His long and distinguished literary journey as also his editorship, in a manner of speaking, began in Kolkata. My earliest memories go back to this period when he was house guest of my parents for many months in this town.”
ess bee

Theatre time

2012-02-19T09:05:00.012+05:30

The last week was a `theatre week' for me. On the eighth of this month I saw a play Arms and the Man at Kalamandir directed by Naseeruddin Shah based on George Bernard Shaw's popularcomedy. Though, based on a popular work, Naseeruddin's directorial inputs were quite evident.

On February 10^thI went to Vidyamandir to watch another play of Paresh Rawal, Krishan vs Kanhaiya,and a day later on Sunday I saw Bratya Basu’s Ruddha Sangeet.

The three plays reflected three different moods. While Arms and The Man was in English, Krishan vs Kanhaiya was a Hindi comedy and Ruddha Sangeet was based on Bratya Ganer Ruddha Sangeet (The Stifled Music of an Untouchable) - a story by one of Bengal's greatest Rabindra Sangeetsingers, Debabrata Biswas, known by his nickname“George da”.He was even more popular because of his `improvisations' or `melodic excesses' on the established and rigid tune-notations of Tagore songs and also for his inclinations to use Western musical instruments.

In Bratya's version, there was also a scene in which Jyoti Basu, Nirmal Ghose and Pramod Dasgupta's characters were shown. There ere quite a few innuendos on Marxism.

Earlier this week, I had a meeting with the Kolkata Police regarding Pronam members' annualfunction, we decided on the play Natir Pooja directed by Kaushal Ganguly in which Arpita Chatterjee has acted. The play is based on Rabindranath Tagore’s story. The programme is slated for March 16, 2012 at Vidyamandir.

This week Bratya's theatre group was present at a theatre festival in Kolkata which drew Mahesh Bhatt, Amal Allana and Manoj Vajpayee to Kolkata. I think that after a long time the city has hosted so many theatres within such a short time.

When I went to watch the three plays, I was rather surprised to find that at the Vidyamandir and Kalamandir, mobile phones were buzzing in between when the play was on despite announcement at the start of the event requesting the audience to put their mobile phones in silent mode. During the interval, many people were out enjoying samosas and coffee at the in house canteens, but their extended tea break continued even when the play resumed.

In contrast, during the play staged at Rabindra Sadan, not a single mobile phone rang and everyone had finished their lemon tea and moori badam well in time to be back in their seats before the play resumed.

Another thing I observed was that the audience of Vidya Mandir and Kalamandir, except for few of the front rows, by and large were in a hurry to leave the auditorium while the actor and director were on the dais. In Rabindra Sadan, no one left before curtains fell.

The tickets for Vidyamandir and Kalamandir were priced as donation between Rs 1000 to Rs 2500 against Rabindra Sadan's Rs 40, Rs 50 and Rs 60. Well, someone has rightly said it,“Money can’t buy you culture.”

I must thank a new company in this town Leopard Creations and Maggi for bringing some of the national theatres to Kolkata.

ess bee

Art auction for a different kind of cause

2012-02-18T21:07:00.005+05:30

February 18, 2012: This afternoon I went to the Press Club of Kolkata to attend the inauguration of the charity art auction press conference on “Art Auction for Animal Shelter”.
Animal lovers in the city could soon have a shelter to take their injured, abandoned and distressed four-legged friends to, thanks to an online art auction.

Debasree Roy Foundation, an animal welfare organisation, and The Eye Within, a non-profit organisation promoting contemporary Indian art and artists, have joined hands to conduct the auction that will raise funds for an animal shelter and hospital and Mr Gautam Das heads The Eye Within.

Works by Rabindranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Jogen Chowdhury and Shuvaprasanna, among others, will go under the hammer for the cause.

Those who want to take part in the auction will have to fill in an online pre-registration form. Minimum bids would be announced on February 25. The auction preview will be held on March 3 at the Royal Bengal Room, City Centre, Salt Lake, from 4 pm to 7 pm. Derek O’Brien has agreed to conduct the auction and Sourav Ganguly will also join in the function on that day.

“We are dependent on animals. So we must protect them, not out of pity, but because our eco-system would collapse without them,” is what I said at the conference. Our Foundation - Prabha Khaitan Foundation is supporting this auction.

From the Press Club, Debasree and myself went to The Kolkata Tattoo - a show at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium organized by the Kolkata Police for the first time. I met Rashid Khan and the police officials of Kolkata Police (picture).

ess bee

Nobel Chor premier show

2012-02-17T23:20:00.003+05:30

With Toni and Barkha

February 17, 2012: There were three invitations this evening, one was the launch of On Tagore by Amit Chaudhuri at the Oxford Bookstore, the other was an invitation from The Consul General of the Russian Federation, Mr Vladimir V Lazarev to a presentation function of the Kaluga region of Russia and Dialogue of Cultures – United World Foundation followed by a reception at the Galaxy Hall of The Park and finally there was the Premier of Bengali feature film Nobel Chor at Priya.

I decided to skip the first two and went to Nobel Chor premier show. The film, directed by Suman Ghosh (picture), is a work of fiction inspired by the real incident.

But the way Mithun acted in the film, there is no doubt that the crowds would rush to the theatres.

Suman’s direction has proved that simplicity is still the best thing and has its own charm. I met the usual film premier crowd of Kolkata at this premier show.

ess bee

Rains play spoilsport

2012-02-16T17:04:00.002+05:30

February 16: This morning I attended the ASL meeting at the National Library with regard to the Hon’ble Vice President’s visit to Kolkata.

Last night it had rained and the weather is a little better.

Yesterday, while at P C Chandra's, at the wedding of Bachhawat family, it started drizzling and by the time I reached RCGC, it became very messy. The sudden downpour took both, the guests and the hosts, by surprise and neither were prepared for it and the resulting chaos. Things actually became so bad that I could not get out of my car to attend the wedding and messaged Ramesh Juneja that I was there.

It somehow seems, I was not meant to attend Juneja’s wedding because some months back Ramesh Juneja invited me to the wedding celebrations in Goa but I wasn't able to attend the Goa celebrations nor able to see him or greet him in the reception at RCGC.

ess bee

`Art of Bengal' – a great book

2012-02-15T14:04:00.021+05:30

With Asish Anand, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ina Puri and
Paula Sengupta

February 15, 2012: Yesterday I was at the ITC Sonar Art Gallery at the book release function of ‘The Art of Bengal' by Delhi Art Gallery hosted by our Foundation – Prabha Khaitan Foundation.

The 464-page volume has essays by Ina Puri, Paula Sengupta and Sanjoy Kumar Mallik. This must-have book for all art lovers is complete with a reference time line and 400 plates of works of art.

One of the co-authors is a personal friend of mine, so I decided to host this event in collaboration with ITC Sonar Bangla.

The book was unveiled by santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma (picture) who has been kind enough to come all the way from Mumbai to release the book.

With Chitrabhanu Majumdar

In fact, Kishore Singh and Ashish Anand from Delhi Art Gallery came down for this event.

The project, commissioned by the Delhi Art Gallery, is divided into different sections that trace art and artists from the late 18th century to 2010.

Curator Ina Puri, who has chronicled Bengal’s art scene between 1947 and 2000 for the book describes the period as, “It was a very rich period, featuring important painters like Lalu Prasad Shaw, Partha Pratim Deb, Isha Mohammad and Chittrabhanu Majumdar.
It was also a period peaking in theatre, film and music, so it tries to highlight, to portray the range of art practised in Bengal.”

With Ranjit Mallik

Priced Rs 9,000, the Book will be available at select bookstores by the end of the month, followed by a two-week exhibition starting April 4, when 200 works of art that appear on the pages of the book would be on display at The Harrington Street Arts Centre in Calcutta.

It is indeed too bulky to carry this Book comfortably in the hand but an excellent book as far as the Art of Bengal is concerned.

After the book release, I hosted a dinner in honour of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma at my residence and invited friends from the music fraternity i.e., Bickram Ghosh, Tanmoy Bose, Ustad Rashid Khan. Among others, Aparna Sen, Gargi Roy Chowdhury, Ranjit Mallik, an Artist Chitrabhanu Mazumdar joined in.

With Rashid Khan, Gargi Roy and Tanmoy Bose

The evening ended quite late and I was really impressed to see the discipline in the classical music fraternity as Rashid, Tanmoy and Bickram, all the three not only touched the feet of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and sought his blessings, but also refrained from consuming alcohol in his presence.

Today evening I shall out attending a couple of weddings.

ess bee

Cigarette butts - deadlier than the terrorists

2012-02-12T09:09:00.003+05:30

This week, while in office, I got a call from my home informing me that a fire broke out on the window shades of first floor of our building but the situation was brought under control by the chauffeurs, guards and others who succeeded in dousing it.

Later, I came to know that the fire was the handiwork of someone who had casually flicked a burning cigarette butt from one of the windows above. The smouldering butt fell and ignited a rubber pipe in which live electric wires were encased. This causing a short circuit and the fire.

It could not be ascertained who was behind the discarded cigarette butt, but it left no room for doubt that it was some visitor in the building. Smoking is hazardous in more ways than one and often to others.

My house on Little Russell Street is in an old building. It has a wooden staircase like any other old buildings in the city. These buildings are a veritable tinderbox, a powder keg, that any discarded cigarette butt can cause a conflagration.

After the Stephen Court fire incident, I wrote a strong letter to the co-owners of our building which yielded some results. The messy wires were put in order, but other than mine, no other apartment has fire extinguishers or fire-fighting equipment till date.

The law has banned smoking in public places, but we actually see people not only smoking in public but also casually tossing burning cigarette butts in jammed trash chutes and elsewhere. Disastrous fire incidents like the Nandaram Market, Stephen Court, AMRI and so many other such incidents in the city has hardly had any impact. The general level of awareness regarding fire safety is abysmally low. I shudder to think how many more fires and lives will it take for Kolkatans to draw some serious lessons and act.

Given the city's track record, Kolkatans should be more aware, alert and cautious regarding fire safety. More so, since we live in a city that has so many old buildings with narrow lanes and approach roads. The electrical wirings in these building make a perfect set up for a horror movie.

As far as the public is concerned, the government and its fire department is always the favourite whipping boy. Why can't we the citizens of Kolkata take few small steps in adopting fire safety measures like putting fire-fighting equipment and ensuring that functional fire exits are in place. My building doesn't have one and I am fighting for it. My gut feeling is that I have a long battle ahead.

Not just visitors, the hosts are also responsible for fatal fire incidents. If you invite someone to your house, how they conduct themselves, is your responsibility.

The world over, if one goes by the discarded cigarette butts' potential to cause damage to life and property, it is more dangerous than terror attacks.

So not just health, our government should strictly enforce that all cigarettes are “fire safe” (go out more quickly if left unattended) or Fire Standards Compliant (FSC), as in the United States.

But all these measures would have little impact as long as the general awareness on fire safety remains low. When will we ever learn!

ess bee

Gearing up for Agyeya Centenary celebrations

2012-02-10T12:04:00.029+05:30

February 10, Friday: Since Monday I was busy in the office preparing for the Agyeya 100th Birth Centenary Celebrations in Kolkata slated for February 21^stto 23^rd2012.

With Srijeet, Mithun da, Ananya and Gargi

The Vice President of India, Hon'ble Mohammad Hamid Ansari ji has kindly consented to be the Chief Guest and I have also invited about 50 scholars and literary personalities and senior journalists from across the country to attend the three-day event.

For organising this kind of events, the desk work is very important and that is what kept me occupied for the last five days.

With Indrani and Malabika

Amid all this work, I hosted a dinner on the request of my friend Dr Suman Ghosh who is the Director of the film Nobel Chor scheduled for release on February 17, 2012.

I hosted this dinner as Mithun da, the main character of the film, was also in town.

The film story is based on the Nobel Prize theft. The dinner was hosted at the ITC Sonar poolside. My other friends from the film fraternity also attended the dinner.

As the film had something to do with Tagore, it also gave me an opportunity to display my personal collection on Tagore family like a painting of Tagore by Jamini Roy, hand-written letter by Tagore to his daughter Neeru and a pair of sketches by Gagendranath Tagore.

I have also arranged for copies of Gitanjali for the guests.

My friend, Victor Banerjee, gifted me a hand written poetry of Tagore which I also put on display.

ess bee

A heart that beats for books

2012-02-05T09:35:00.005+05:30

With Carl W Ernst

I arrived in Kolkata from a nearly three-week trip to Jaipur and Mumbai. By the time I reached Kolkata, the Kolkata Literary Meet (KLM) was over, but the Book Fair was still on. So on Friday, I dropped in at the Book Fair, first to attend the Krittibas magazine function at the UB Auditorium, and then to just take a round of the fair.

Over the past week, the newspapers have been full of KLM and, of course, the likes of Imran Khan, Virkram Seth, John Keay, Kunal Basu, and others.

Last month, before leaving for the Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF), I had written about how the KLM was taking over JLF.

I truly feel that Kolkata can snatch the literary meet crown from Jaipur. The JLF is more a “glamourous mela” than a lit fest. It is merely one big soulless event with a very high glamour quotient and a picture postcard venue, where all the well known authors, celebs, film stars, politicians, and the well-healed want to be seen.

There is no doubt that JLF is very well managed and attended. But somehow, the soul is missing. And this is not just my personal feeling either. Many local artistes and litterateurs, as well as ordinary people, share this feeling.

Kolkata is the city of Saraswati, the goddess of music, knowledge and art. It is the Mecca of Indian culture, the very soul of literature and fine arts. Those who participate in the book fairs in Kolkata do not do so because of the glamour quotient or star attractions. They do so because literature flows in their very blood. I have been a regular at the Kolkata Book Fair and have also been attending the JLF (picture below).

Talking about literature, and comparing Kolkata and Jaipur, is like comparing a human being to a robot. The common man has no role to play at the JLF, whereas Kolkata draws its strength from the ordinary citizen's passion for literature. The crown fits Kolkata's head naturally. For Jaipur, it is the head that is made to fit the crown.

Two top names were missing from JLF – Salman Rushdie and Vikram Seth, while Seth was very much part of the KLM. No doubt, Gulzaar was the biggest hit at JLF, but the glamour quotient at the KLM was no less with the presence of Imran Khan and others.

I feel more initiatives such as KLM should be taken to promote regional language lit fests. English is more than welcome, but literature in local languages has its own rhythm.

Now, I'm looking forward to the three-day event on Agyeye, a stalwart of Hindi literature, whose birth centenary falls this year, to commemorate which I am organising a programme in Kolkata from February 21^st.

ess bee

Book distribution

2012-02-04T21:34:00.009+05:30

With Pradip Bhattacharya, MP

Saturday, February 4, 2012: In the afternoon attended a book distribution function organized by Bharat Relief Society and supported by Prabha Khaitan Foundation.

Over the last few years, we have been doing this function. To be honest, it is indeed very satisfying to provide free books to over 2000 students every year, especially to the needy ones.

I met Pradip Bhattacharya, Member of Parliament and West Bengal Pradesh Congress President who was there at the function as a guest.

Also present on the occasion was actress Arpita Chatterjee (picture).

ess bee

The T2 party and Kolkata Book Fair

2012-02-03T10:30:00.011+05:30

I arrived from Mumbai on 1st February (Wednesday) night and went to Shisha Reincarnated to attend the fifth T2 anniversary party. My flight was delayed by 30 minutes and by the time I reached there it was about quarter part 12 at night.

Shisha was full and every face I saw out there was familiar to me. I met everybody and by the time I retired for the day it was 3:30 am.

Today evening I went to the Kolkata Book Fair to attend the function of Krittibas (picture), one of the most respected Bengali magazines. Every year so many new authors release their books from this function which was held at the UB Auditorium.

With Sunil Ganguly

I had a privilege of releasing the Krittibas issue in the function (picture). After the function I took a round of the book shops and dropped in at the Samvad Pratidin stall. I also went to Guild Office thinking may be Trideb, Gitesh or other members would be there but I could not find anyone apart from some of the functionaries working there.

From the Kolkata Book Fair, I went to Mani Square banquet for a private function. I was really impressed by the quality of food which was by some Ganapati caterer. I have realized the fact that if you want to have quality service and great vegetarian food, there are quite a few caterers in Kolkata who are far better than the Five Star hotels.

ess bee

Meeting old chums

2012-02-01T12:06:00.002+05:30

With Manali Bothra, Nitika Jain and Nisha Poddar

I hosted a lunch in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon. It was an informal get together.
I thought it would be difficult to visit individual houses and meet people due to time constraints.
So why not say Hello! to all the friends and acquaintances at one go. The lunch was from 12 noon and by the time it got over it was well past 5 pm.

With Shravan and Krishna Sureka, Gautam
and Puja Bothra

I caught up with old friends met some of them in person after almost six or seven years.
Though the initial idea to host a lunch was to meet everybody and also save time but things did not happen that way. I realised that everybody who attended the lunch ensured that I visited them either over lunch or dinner or at the least over tea.

With Mohini Mathur and A A Syed of Maharashtra UNA

So the whole of yesterday and the day before, I was traversing the length and breadth of Mumbai meeting friends over lunch, dinner or tea.
I wish at times things happened exactly the way you want.
Also the fact that it is not possible to visit every one keeps nagging me. Lunch was at Catherine - the ITC Maratha tea lounge- as the whole hotel was packed due to wedding functions.

With Rajesh Nath, Gurpreet, Neelam Sethi, Syanti Majumdar,
Amitabh Acharya and others

It was nice of the hotel team to arrange for the lounge and reserve it for us so that we could hold our get together over lunch.
I shall fly back to Kolkata today late evening.
ess bee

A city I once knew

2012-01-29T09:03:00.005+05:30

Hotel Grand Maratha Mumbai: It has been nearly a decade and a half since I lived in Mumbai for about 18 months in the mid nineties. At that time, I had stayed at a Nariman Point guest house for about one year and another six months at a Napean Sea Road apartment. I have many fond memories of this city of that time.
I have travelled extensively but Mumbai, somehow, has never been on my travel itinerary for a long time except for few hours at the airport during transit for catching international flights. I had spent a night when the Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas was held in the city. I did not get time to venture out of the airport, hotel or conference venue.
Normally I don't like attending weddings. But this time I am in Mumbai to attend the wedding of Prerna Sarda and Abhinav Jhunjhunwala. The wedding functions would take place at The Taj properties. I, however, chose to stay at the Grand Maratha as many of my yester-year friends and acquaintances from ITC Sonar Bangla and Rajputana like Kuldeep Dhawan, Rajesh Nath, Gurpreet and Neelam Sethi now attached with this property.
This Hotel has a classical structure and the interiors is a tribute to the legacy of Maratha culture. There is a glass wall that divides the coffee shop and the lobby on which is scripted a letter that Shivaji had written to his mother Jija Bai. I am on the 16th floor of this Hotel. The walls on this particular floor are adorned by murals and sculptures depicting the artwork of Ajanta and Ellora caves.
Yesterday I was there at the ball room of the famous Taj Mahal Hotel in Colaba for Sangeet function. The ballroom, it seemed, had more people than it could accommodate comfortably. Leading industrialists of the country turned up in full strength. After spending about half-an-hour greeting all friends who had come down from Kolkata, I decided to take a walk towards the Regal Cinema Hall.
Regal Cinema, Jehangir Art Gallery, St Anne's High School, Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) are some of the iconic buildings and institutions located on this stretch – old memory lane – that I used to walk almost every day during my stay in Mumbai.
I reached Chetna Restaurant which used to be my favorite food joint that served home-type thali food. I asked the bearer about Subhash Gandhi who used to take care of this restaurant belonging to the Arya family. The bearer was visibly surprised and asked me after how many years I was in the city.
The interiors of the restaurant had an altogether new look and the menu list had added, besides the Gujarati and Rajasthani thali, Maharasthrian thali along with snacks. I had a masala kedgeree (kitchari) and kadhi - the restaurant's special dishes. This veggie restaurant started in 1946. The bearer also told me that the Maharaj (main cook) of this restaurant is still the same person who has been working here for the past 35 years.
While having dinner at Chetna I wondered that the city has made a long journey from Bombay to Mumbai. I have a feeling that Mumbai has lost its pulse since the days of mid-nineties when I last lived here. I had plans to stay here this time for about 10 to 12 days but have decided to cut short my trip and return to my city Kolkata. I don't know this Mumbai and nor Mumbai knows me.
ess bee

In Mumbai, missing out on Jaipur, Kolkata events

2012-01-27T11:04:00.008+05:30

January 27^thMumbai: I arrived in Mumbai late last night from Jaipur. I could not attend the Republic Day programme at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium but attended the Republic Day tea at the Raj Bhavan in Jaipur and then took the last flight to Mumbai.
Normally, this time of the year, I stay put in Jaipur only. But this time I cut short my trip and came to Mumbai to attend a wedding function. I will miss the Sirmur Cup Polo which happens to be the last and the most famous tournament of Jaipur polo season.

In fact, when I was in Jaipur during Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, I took out some time in the afternoon and went to see the polo match. There I met Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur (picture). He told me that he hoped that I would be staying till the end of the polo season.
I will also miss out on the annual bash hosted by princess Diya Kumari today. This bash is also a very popular event on the city's social calendar.

Many people asked me why I was leaving the party for a day and that too at a time when many guests were flying in for the sole purpose of attending this very party which would be hosted at the Narayan Niwas this year.
I will also miss the Jaipur Film Festival inaugural function in which Jayabrato Chatterjee's film Love Song will be screened and Jaya Bacchan would be felicitated with the Life Time Achievement Award.

My missing out on big events continues in the Kolkata circuit as well starting from Dover Lane Music Conference, Kolkata Book Fair inauguration, Calcutta Literary Meet and so on.
I will attend the wedding function this evening. In fact my late friend Arun Bhutoria and I were supposed to attend this wedding together and we had even chalked out few things we'd do in Mumbai once the wedding got over. Arun was very close to the bride's family. As he is no more, it was on me to ensure that I attended this wedding.

ess bee

LitFest 2012 ends

2012-01-25T21:50:00.000+05:30

The Jaipur Literary Festival concluded with the Writers' Ball Party at the Kesar Kyari of Amber Fort.

At the last day's sessions, the only discussion among the audience was Salman Rushdie's proposed video conference which did not happen at the end of the day.

At the Writers' Ball yesterday evening, besides the authors and speakers, few prominent Jaipurites were invited. Kesar Kyari really looks amazing when lit up. The guests were busy clicking pictures and some of them took my pictures as well (picture).

I had a brief chat with Namita Gokhale who was a tad relaxed after the huge event.

I complimented her for the great show.

I also met and chatted with Swami Agnivesh (picture) who was, for most of the time, busy on his cell phone.

Sunanda Pushkar, Konkana and others were there at the Kyari roof where dinner was laid.

Javed sahab was also at ease today. After finishing his session on Lava, his new book, he was thronged by his fans, mostly school children, and could hardly move freely.

After that session I was standing with filmmaker Sangeeta Dutta of London as Javed Sahab tried to talk to us but had to beat a retreat from the venue due to the crowd of well wishers and fans (picture).
I have invited famous theatre director, Bhanu Bharti, today evening. He is from the Bharatpur division. He was in the city on an invitation from the Rajasthan government to produce and direct a programme on the Republic Day at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. I am thinking of attending this programme though tomorrow I have many last minute work to finish off with in Jaipur and then leave for Mumbai.

ess bee

The head that fits the crown

2012-01-23T16:03:00.011+05:30

With Prasoon Joshi and Gulzar

January 23^rd 2012: Today morning I went to the Lit Fest at the Diggi Palace. The session Kahani Kise Kahate Hai started with Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Prasoon Joshi and Vishal Bharadwaj taking to the stage.

The session started in English. This was a big big disappointment for me. Who on earth would want to hear out Gulzar and Javed speaking in a language other than Hindi or Urdu. During the course of the session, I believe, they understood this fact, and gauging the audience mood, switched on to Hindi and Urdu.

After the session I met up with Suhel Seth (picture) and we had a few rounds of chai and samosas. We discussed about he Jaipur LitFest (JLF) and the forthcoming Calcutta festival.

Few weeks ago in Kolkata, a prominent English daily asked for my views on - Can Calcutta snatch the literary meet crown from Jaipur?

I had said “Yes!”

With film directorVishal Bhardwaj

Indeed, Calcutta can snatch the literary meet crown from Jaipur. The Jaipur Literary Festival is more of a “glamorous mela” than a litfest. It is one great big soulless event with a very high glamour quotient and a picture postcard venue. The Jaipur LitFest is where all well-known authors, celebs, filmstars, politicians and the well-healed want to be.

There is no doubt that the Jaipur Literary Festival is very well managed and attended. But somehow, the soul is missing. This is not just my person feeling. Many local artistes and literatteurs and others share this feeling.

Kolkata is the city where Saraswati – the goddess of music, knowledge and art - resides. It is the Mecca of Indian culture, the very soul of literature and fine arts. Those who participate in the book fairs in Kolkata do not do so because of any glamour or star attraction. They do so because literature flows in their very bloodstream. They have a passion for books.

I am a regular at the Kolkata Book Fair and have also been attending the Jaipur Literary Festival as well. Talking about literature and comparing Kolkata and Jaipur is like comparing a human being and a robot. The common man has no role or place in the Jaipur Literary Festival, where as, Kolkata draws its strength from its common man’s passion for literature.

The crown fits Kolkata's head naturally. For Jaipur, it is the head that is made to fit the crown.

After the session was over, I met Prasoon, Gulzar Sahab and Vishal Bhardwaj and had tea with Prasoon Joshi (picture).

ess bee

Party at my house in Jaipur

2012-01-22T16:03:00.036+05:30

With Girish Karnad

Yesterday night, I hosted a dinner at my Jaipur residence and invited few of my political and bureaucratic friends. The group was also joined by friends and known people from Kolkata like Madhu Neotia, Suresh Neotia, Ina Puri, Kunal Basu, Sangeeta Dutta and others.

With Jai Govind Indoria (left) and
Mayor of Jaipur Ms Jyoti Khandelwal

There were many people from all over the world in Jaipur who are known to me and they also attended this informal get-together including Girish Karnad, historian Helen Kee, Om Thanvi, Ashok Vajpeyi and others.

From Jaipur apart from Nand Bhardwaj, Digambar Singh, Jyoti Khandelwal - Mayor of Jaipur, Mamata Sharma, Chairman, National Commission for Women, Rajiv Arora and other friends from political background were also there.

With Mamata Sharma, Navdeep Singh and Suresh Neotia

The Jaipur weather is freezing cold and even on a small lawn with about 125 people get-together, five gas heaters and ten big sigrees were not enough to create warmth around.

It was delightful conversation not only on Salman Rushdie but also on Jaipur civil society, Jaipur Literary Festival and the recent Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and the upcoming Jaipur Film Festival as well.

With Digambar Singh

Diverse segments of people from diverse walks of life, of course have diverse opinions but everybody is of the same opinion that from January 15 to February 10 is the best time to be in Jaipur as far as literature, culture, film and sporting activities are concerned.

I have called a group of ghazal singers for live performance followed by violin players as after 10 PM, Jaipur has a law, at least in my residential area that microphones cannot be used.

With author Kunal Basu

The guests and I both enjoyed the ghazals as well as the violin music and I was thinking that in fact, it is a good time for me to hold a get-together in this season every year, as apart from Jaipur I can entertain known guests from my cultural circuit who visit Jaipur in this season.

ess bee

Jaipur at its dazzling best

2012-01-20T23:15:00.010+05:30

I was busy at a personal function till late afternoon yesterday. In the evening I went to Hotel Mariott where my friend Tanmoy Bose, a leading tabla player, was performing with Anushka. For the citizens of Jaipur it was a memorable classical evening.

I dropped in at the Rambag Palace Hotel for a dinner hosted in honour of the much talked about authors from across the globe who have converged on the city for the Jaipur Lit Fest. Rambag was decked up like a bride. The guests, who have been savouring the Jaipur hospitality, were awe-struck by the dazzling display of candle and flower-works at the Hotel. All the guests were driven in buggies from the gate to dinner site and taken back to their destinations on vintage cars. The Taj Group of Hotels has every reason to feel proud of this Palace property of theirs.

This evening I hosted a cocktail party at my Jaipur house which was attended by artistes like Prerna Srimali, Ankit Patel, Surendra Pal Joshi, Ikram Rajasthani and others (picture).

Ashok Vajpayee, Jawahar Sircar and Ina Puri, who were in Jaipur for the LitFest, also joined in (picture).

ess bee

At Jaipur's Rambag Palace Hotel

2012-01-18T11:05:00.002+05:30

January 18, 2012: I arrived in Jaipur last evening. It was freezing. I went to the Rambag Palace Hotel for dinner and sat in the lawn in front of coffee shop. The cold was too much for the guests as all the other tables outside were empty while the coffee shop was full inside. Oddly enough, I like this kind of weather. I requested the bearer to put more sigris (stove lit with coal or wood) and stayed there till the midnight.

From the lawn I could see the Hotel's SMS block which has about 15 to 17 rooms on one side. All the rooms, located on the ground floor, are like that of a good 3 Star hotel. There is a gate from where you can walk to Rambag's adjoining areas. The SMS banquets are also located there. Normally these rooms are booked for weddings, conventions and conferences. The tour operators also bring in tourists to the Hotel by enticing them with the majestic and imposing pictures and photos of Rambag property. I personally like SMS a lot.

There were times when I wasn't staying at the Rajputana, I always used to stay here at the SMS . There's one particular room in this Hotel, the first one before the reception, that has a separate drawing room and bedroom. If I remember correctly it is the Room No 430. The place was good for me and I often joked that it was a well-serviced circuit house with 5 Star facility.

I remembered Mr R D Singh who used to manage the property. I called him on his cell number which was switched off.

I asked a waiter about him and was shocked to hear that he is no more. I suddenly realized that it has been three years since I was last here and had spent many weeks. Mr Singh used to take good care of me and I had known him since the days when he was a duty manager here. He also owned a heritage hotel where I had met his family once.

I don't feel like staying at the Rambag any more in the absence of Singh ji. I remember my last conversation with him was about his son's (the name fails me) career who wanted to join The Taj Group then. The whole evening I was flooded with memories of R D Singh. The bearers, fearing I'll catch cold, kept warning me of the chilly weather.
Tomorrow I will be busy the whole day in a personal function.

ess bee

At the Kavi-Katha in Town Hall

2012-01-16T10:05:00.008+05:30

With Mr H M Bangur and Mr Sunil Gangopadhyay

Monday, January 16, 2012: Yesterday morning I went to the Town Hall to witness Kavi-Katha via Gujarati poetry, dance and activism at 11 am.

Though Mallika Sarabhai was absent, Pranab Mukherjee did a very good job. One thing I noticed and liked was the green, yellow, red and blue coloured cloth which decked up the stairs of the Town Hall. I must thank the present government and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation that somehow Town Hall has become a hub for good events.

In the evening there was a Board Meeting of The Bengal (picture) in which the Safe City Project was discussed. The Bengal is planning to join hands with Kolkata Police and The Telegraph for this project.

The National Commission for Women have also expressed their willingness to be associated with this project.

Tomorrow I will fly to Jaipur.

ess bee

Moments of truth

2012-01-15T09:05:00.008+05:30

I get many SMSs, mails and letters from readers of this column. Many conscientious citizens encourage me to write on social issues, others share with me their day to day experiences.

After the November 27^th article “The issue of tissue” in this column, I received two interesting mails from Colonel (Retired) Prabir Sengupta, Vishisht Seva Medal, which touched my heart. I felt his views carry weight and must be shared with our readers.

Col (Retd) Sengupta mailed me on two issues `Kolkata clean up' and `Kolkata calling'. Both the letters are, as expected of an ex-army man, straight from the heart.

First mail: Kolkata clean up

Your weekly articles in HT City have inspired me to pen this thought to make Kolkata a cleaner city. There are a number of Pan Shops in the City of Kolkata – with KMC having given license to some of them to operate. It should be made mandatory for each of these shops to place a small ‘waste-bin’ next to their shop.

The paper littered in and around the city (which is also a major reason for clogged drains) will reduce by 45 per cent if these shops place a waste-bin. The Cigarette wrappers, gutka sachets et al will find a rightful place for disposal.

This small initiative will go a long way to clean up the city. Through your articles the ‘Powers that be’ could be told to enforce this, resulting in a cleaner city.

PS: While I was posted in Ranchi, I had got this implemented in the road where the unit was located (not within the Cantonment) and the local bazaar. It had fabulous results!

Second mail: Kolkata calling

There have been a number of instances where the ordinary citizen interact with the ‘face of the Government’ in their daily interactions. These ‘Moments of Truth’ (Jan Carlzon) are experiences through which we evaluate the Government / governance. I would like to pen a few lines on “The Moment of Truth – WB Police”.

My better half lost her mobile and to block the number the online service people recommended that we lodge an FIR with the local police. Since the incident happened in Chandannagore (my Father-in-laws place), the two of them went to the local police station to lodge an FIR.

The three officials were lounging in their seats with a current ‘hot’ number blaring in one of their mobiles. My father-in-law, a doctor by profession, is mild mannered and well respected in the locality. He knocked and sought permission to enter. The OC was writing something on a piece of paper and continued to do so – without looking up. He growled to come in. Despite three chairs placed opposite – he did not offer them to sit.

The three officials in the meantime continuing with their discussion on the wonderful effects of liquor and how it helps looses ones inhibition. The conversation, let alone being decent, was lewd to say the least (all this while Sheila with her jawani kept playing on the mobile). And all this while the three continued to ogle – despite the presence of my father-in-law's respected gentry.

After much ado the OC, thoroughly bored with life, asked my father-in-law and better half to sit down and asked what their problem was. On hearing the incident of loss of mobile, he went on a discourse as to why the ‘fairer sex’ should not be given anything of responsibility and how they invariably misuse/ misplace the responsibility / faith. Finally the FIR was lodged with prayers on their lips my FIL and better half left the police station – praying that never should any bhadralok should have the ignominy to visit a police station.

The ‘rich culture’ of the state and its people truly stands shamed if the men in uniform perform their task the way the Chandannagore police station performed on the evening of 31 December 2011.

I am Colonel (Retired) Prabir Sengupta, Vishisht Seva Medal.

It is very interesting that Col (Retd) Sengupta mentioned Jan Carlzon, the Swedish businessman, who, as the CEO of SAS Group, turned around Scandanavian airlines from the brink and revolutionized the airline industry through focus on customer service quality.

Carlzon's quote was rewritten in the book Moments of Truth where he said, "Last year each of our 10 million customers came in contact with approximately five SAS employees, and this contact lasted an average of 15 seconds each time. The SAS is ‘created’ 50 million times a year, 15 seconds at a time. These 50 million ‘moments of truth’ are the moments that ultimately determine whether SAS will succeed or fail as a company. They are the moments when we must prove to our customers that SAS is their best alternative."

The Kolkata and West Bengal Police probably has 5 billion such “moments of truth” each year. I wish we had our own Carlzon to set things right. I shall end with two of his famous quotes which seems so relevant in our context.

"An individual without information can't take responsibility. An individual with information can't help but take responsibility."
"Problems are solved on the spot, as soon as they arise. No front-line employee has to wait for a supervisor's permission."

I hope someone's listening.

ess bee

No time for lunches

2012-01-14T23:57:00.002+05:30

Saturday, January 14, 2012: I was working the whole day in office and missed lunch with the Commissioner of Police at the Race Course. Also missed out on Alka Bangur’s invitation to have lunch at the panel discussions and interactive session on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indian retail sector at The Park Hotel, organized by Calcutta Chamber of Commerce.

I was busy with work as I would be out of Kolkata for two weeks, travelling to Jaipur and then Mumbai.

ess bee

2012-01-13T12:03:00.004+05:30

In Faiz’s memory

Blog for Friday, January 13: Returned to Kolkata from Jaipur. The season of events is in full swing with the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2012.

Yesterday went to the Town Hall to attend the programme “Lab Azaad Hain”, an evening of Faiz’s poetry and ghazals dedicated to the memory of Jit Paul, the founder, Apeejay Surrendra Group, although I was a little late for the programme

Faiz’s daughter Salima Hashmi started the event with her introductory note. Naseeruddin Shah recited Faiz’s poetry in Urdu and English in his mesmerizing voice. Ustaad Shujaat Khan rendered Faiz’s ghazals.

I met His Excellency Shahid Malik, Pakistan Ambassador to India (picture), who graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. A couple of media people asked Shahid Malik about the recent development in Pakistan and as a diplomat, Shahid Malik answered, “Please restrict the questions only to Faiz and literature.”

ess bee

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas – a great show!

2012-01-11T11:05:00.030+05:30

Wednesday, 2012: Jaipur Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2012 was a big hit. Even the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, praised the Gehlot government for one of the most successful Pravasi Bharatiya Divas events.

All the prominent buildings of Jaipur were lit up which was noticed by the Prime Minister.

Rajasthan Foundation, the nodal agency, also played a pivotal role in pulling off this event for Rajasthan, the partner state.

Pradeep Chaturvedi, General Secretary of Rajasthan National Forum, was with me and there was a rather good interaction initiated by him on the state's culture and performing art activities with various Non-Resident Rajasthani Institutions (NRRIs).

I met many known political and bureaucratic friends (pictures) who were all there at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference venues and dinners.

I, in fact, met some of my political and bureaucrat friends after many years. I think many of the delegates attended the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas since it provides a good platform for meeting and interacting with people from various walks of life.

The sheer scale of the PBD show can be gauged from the fact that an all time record 2014 delegates registered for the event this time against last year's 900 (approx) delegates.

The Rajasthan Foundation was the nodal agency that played a significant role in making this event a grand success.

The Rajasthan Foundation Jaipur head office worked very hard to promote and facilitate NRR and NRRI's contribution to socio-economic development in the state which was also highlighted.

ess bee

The `Pink Conference City' of India

2012-01-09T23:30:00.026+05:30

Monday, January 9, 2012: Today was the last day of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. In the afternoon I met Sir Goolam Kaderbhoy Noon (picture) over tea and then attended the President's valedictory session.

In the evening I went to City Palace and had a dinner with the Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy (picture), Parvez Dewan (picture below), Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), Government of India, and others.

Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2012 has opened the doors for Jaipur to establish itself as the ideal `Conference City' of India. Rajasthan is already a tourist hub and, over the past decade, also emerged as a much sought after destination for the high-voltage big fat Indian weddings. The city and the state has a good infrastructure and support services to handle large number of visitors at one go. The Government of Rajasthan should promote Jaipur as the `Pink Conference City' of India on the lines of Finland's capital – Helsinki – which hosts over 100 international conventions attended by an average of over 100,000 tourists and delegates each year. Incheon and Geneva are also 100 per cent conference cities that have spurred local economy in the immediate hinterland of Republic of Korea and Switzerland. Jaipur's proximity to Delhi is a great advantage as is Rajasthan's picturesque setting.
I think the non-resident Indians (NRIs) attending this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas are doing so because of emotional reasons and feeling towards their country rather than for reasons economic or business. The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas delegates are the guests of the country and we should take care of these guests and welcome them as per our age-old cultural values and without any expectations. Let there be and there are different roadshows and conferences to woo them for business and investment opportunities.
I also welcome yesterday's announcement that medical certificates of abroad would be honoured in India. This means that the doctors who are practising abroad can now practice here. This was a long standing demand of many doctors and the Indian health sector only stands to gain from this.

The demand of the Nepali delegation (picture below) to open a Rajasthan Foundation chapter in Nepal could also be looked into seriously as the Foundation has played an important role bridging non-resident Rajasthanis (NRRs) and Rajasthan by organising 2000 Rajasthani sammelans till date.

At the VIP lounge of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas I has a brief meeting with the Nepali delegation of Mr Bimal Kedia, MP, and Binod Chaudhary, member of constituent assembly and parliament. Mr Chaudhary is also the President of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). In fact it was he who initiated this meeting in which the role and future activities of Rajasthan was discussed. Mr Haridas Kotawala, President of Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA), joined in the meeting.
ess bee

PM inaugurates Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

2012-01-08T22:05:00.001+05:30

Sunday, January 8, 2012: The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was officially inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, in the morning which was followed by few sessions. During lunch I met Shashi Tharoor whom I knew during his UN days (picture).

In the afternoon paid a courtesy visit to the Governor, Shivraj Patel, and after that also joined the group of journalists from Kolkata in their meeting with the Governor (picture).
The group of journalists from Kolkata were very impressed with the intellect of Shivraj Patel and the 15-minute scheduled meeting with the journalists went on for more than an hour.

No doubt the great old man of Indian politics has a lot of knowledge as he has served in many ministries.

In the evening I went to the Sisodia Gardens to have dinner hosted by the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot (picture).
ess bee

Janus' month

2012-01-08T07:05:00.005+05:30

In Jaipur this weekend for Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas. The spirit of New Year's Day continues throughout the month of January in India. In Roman mythology January is named after Janus – the God of the doorway. January is the doorway to a new year.

In India, January is synonymous with winter. It means a time when the weather is just fine in much of the mainland. It also means that the nature is at its bountiful, in other words, it is harvest time.

No wonder much of the major events, festivals and celebrations happen this time of the year. World Theatre Festival in Delhi, Jaipur Literary Festival, Bikaner Festival, Kerala Village Fair, Ganga Sagar, Pongal, Makar Sankranti, National Kite Festival, Vasant Panchami, Lohri, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Kolkata Book Fair, Apeejay Literary Festival, Dover Lane Music Conference, the polo season in north Indian cities, music festivals in South India, Republic Day and the list goes on and on.

For the artistes, it is the busiest month of the year as far as performance is concerned. It is during January that I indulge most in the wishful thinking that if only I could be in two or more places on the same day or time. I do so because there are so many interesting events, festivals and programs across India and they often happen at the same time in different places.

One can see the video recordings of a cricket or football match, but that is not the case with festivals and most of the events. One thing the people of art and culture enjoy during winter season is to sit on the lawns, verandahs or open space of India International Centre, National School of Drama, Jawahar Kala Kendra, Nandan and many other similar institutions.

Kolkatans have very few days to sit and enjoy the open skies during day time. January is perhaps the only month to do so. All the five star properties of the city also do something or the other at their open air restaurants.

On 24^th evening I was at the ITC Sonar Bangla open-air restaurant in front of the Coffee Shop lawns. It was an unscheduled visit just for a quick coffee. This Hotel has the best ambience for an open air restaurant because of its lily ponds. On that Xmas eve a musician was playing the saxophone and it was Rabindra Sangeet..... Purano Shei Diner Kotha. I wondered how many guests understood it. I, however, found it amazingly soothing and enchanting.

On the New Year's Day, I had lunch at the Hyatt poolside. Though Hyatt is famous for its Italian restaurant and cuisine but I give equal marks to Gucchi - their Indian joint. The Hyatt poolside is especially good for the non-vegetarians as they specialize in seafood barbeque on weekends evening . For my Indian tooth, The Taj Bengal poolside is the last choice. I intend to try it out soon.

In the last week of December I went for dinner to a place that I visit at least once every year. The sound of water flowing down into the pool is indeed most relaxing music for the soul. It makes it possible for one to take a break from the city's noisy humdrum by retreating to a spot that is located at the very heart of the city itself.

It is my observation that among the city’s five star hotels, as of now, the quality of service, especially the cutlery and crockery presentation, is the best out here. I'd also give 100 per cent to the quality of service. This place has its own old-world charm and the experience I had there was indeed one of the best dinner experiences in Kolkata in recent times.

Well, if you haven't guessed it yet, I was at The Oberoi Grand poolside that evening

ess bee