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It’s 6 am and there’s an infectious energy at Victoria Memorial on a cold January morning. Kolkata’s most recognisable landmark is also a magnet for the city’s fitness conscious, who are undeterred by the temperature. Although I had my trainers on, I was there solely to capture the iconic sunrise image of what locals refer to as VM.
Kolkata’s brief winter spell (from the second half of December to the first half of February) is my favourite time to visit the city. It’s not just the magic of Christmas in December (this is one of the cities where you can feel the spirit of Christmas aka Bada Din in the air) or the pleasant winter – but it’s also Nolen Gur Season. That time of the year when sweet shops and creative chefs across the city are busy crafting signature sweets with their favourite ingredient.
Nolen Gur translates to new jaggery and it is extracted from date palm trees using deft skills as the mercury drops during the winter months in West Bengal.
A cloudy morning meant that I didn’t get the perfect ochre glow at sunrise but that didn’t ruin my picture. I made a quick stopover at Kona Dukan near the Calcutta Stock Exchange. Once a busy spot for brokers, this street is teeming with tiny toast (the Malai toast is legendary) and tea shops.
After walking through North Kolkata’s busy and winding streets and making stops at some legendary 19th century homes, I finally arrived at Putiram in the College Square area for a late breakfast. Their luchi and aloo dum might be their bestseller but it was their Nolen Gur Rosogolla that had my attention.
Balaram Mullick and Rajaram Mullick (or just BRM) probably stocks more Nolen Gur specialties than most sweet stores. What’s more, you can buy Nolen Gur in blocks or a convenient liquid form – just drizzle it over ice cream or hot phulkas (that’s one of my many ideas of comfort food).
It’s not just traditional sweet shops in old Kolkata that hold sway. I moved to the city’s new Tech and Business hub, Rajarhat, by evening and my first pit-stop was the Novotel Kolkata where the culinary team has crafted a clever Nolen Gur Crème brûlée that adds a Bengali twist to a French Classic.
My last stop was the spanking new Bangla Mishti hub in the New Town area that rounds up some of the city’s iconic sweet shops in a plush setting. Think of it as a food court of sweet shops, a spot where you will experience that ‘kid in a candy store moment’ many times over. My first moment came first at Nalin Chandra Das where I sunk my teeth into their seasonal specialty. The Monohora is a Sondesh encased in Nolen Gur and might pass off for a gourmet chocolate from a distance.
The Nolen Gur season isn’t just a showcase for traditional sweets but is evidence that traditional sweet shops are not shying away from innovating and stepping out of their comfort zones. After all, if their forefathers were not open to experimentation, they wouldn’t have reimagined a Portuguese soft cheese as Chhana (the quintessential Bengali sweet ingredient) back in the 17th century. We wouldn’t have half the Bengali sweets of today but for that interesting twist.
That’s almost unthinkable for a true blue Bengali Mishti fan like myself.
Stay: The all-new Ibis Kolkata Rajarhat (www.accorhotels.com) is one of the closest hotels to the Bangla Mishti hub.
Good to know: It’s possible to cover all major sweet shops in one day or over a weekend. The Nolen Gur specialties will be available till early March.
(Ashwin Rajagopalan enjoys communicating across boundaries in his three distinct roles as a widely published lifestyle writer, a consultant and one of India’s only cross cultural trainers. Ashwin writes extensively on travel, food, technology and trends.)
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