This weekend was a blast. Considering that the past week brought on a welcome onslaught of rain coupled with dazzling lightening flashes followed by deafening claps of thunder, I thought we’d have to stay in. But as luck would have it, rain didn’t play spoilsport on the weekend. Though we spent the entire day at home on Saturday and there was a mild drizzle till noon, the weather was awesome in the evening and just perfect for some thukpa and momos. So we got on the Karizma and headed out to Elgin Road, with a quick pit stop at South City Mall on the way. Momo Plaza is one of our favourite places to eat and we ordered our standard Mixed Thukpa and Fried Momos. Our luck was looking up, because they also had Chilli Fried Pork, something which, whenever we get there is finished. So we ordered a plate of that too. After finishing, we even decided to pack two plates of momos to carry back home and good that we did because it made for an amazing midnight snack.
The plan was to get up on Sunday morning and go cycling at the crack of dawn. Ummm we didn’t exactly wake up at the crack of dawn, but early enough (6.30 am) on a Sunday morning and took our Firefox Bikes and headed out. We explored the inner lanes and by-lanes of Santoshpur and our surrounding areas. It was a good hour out on or bikes and the sun was beating down on us so we made a hasty retreat back home and indulged in some Sunday breakfast followed by ghoom (nap).
Our afternoon plan unfolded with us going to Bhuri Bhoj, a restaurant that served Bengali Cuisine and we were glad to find the place tucked away just off the E.M. Bypass near Metro Cash & Carry. I parked the Karizma outside and when we stepped into this practically done eatery, we were surprised to see that it was quite packed, save the first and last table. We took the first one and soon after, the last table was also occupied. So as we were mulling over what to eat, a steady stream of people kept popping in. Make shift waiting arrangements were made in the adjoining garage for people to wait, and the crowd kept getting bigger, pouring out onto the road. We were quite shocked that this little eatery was so popular with people. Anyway we indulged in dal, bhaat, jhingey aloo posto, pabda maach (fish), malai chingri (prawn curry) and aam-er chutney. When we were nearly through with our meal, the rising temperatures outside did take their toll on the waiting patrons and while some left in a huff others did come in to make their sentiments known, leading to an entertaining altercation between some of the patrons. But all in all, this place had yum food, was well priced and had a loyal patronage. But the best part was, they did home deliveries too within a 3 km radius and our house was within that radius. So we paid and took one of their home-delivery menus with us.
Bhuri Bhoj Restaurant
318, Madurdaha, Kalikapur,
Kolkata - 700107
Tel: +91 33 65176077
After that sumptuous lunch, we decided to head out and indulge in some exploration. So we rode towards Garia over the Baghajatin Fly-over. We came up the Metro station and turned left to see how far down into Garia the Metro tracks went. So riding along the road with the elevated Metro tracks on our left we managed to go down about half a kilometre where we noticed the cause of the delay in the Metro project. There was a building bang in the middle of the proposed line. So while pillars had been erected on both side of the building, the mid-section couldn’t be constructed unless the building was razed to the ground. Wonder when that will happen?
Anyway we turned around and as we were heading back we saw the craziest thing ever. If you think I’m “PLANE CRAZY”, what is this person?
After that we headed into New Garia Township and scoped out some of the interiors. One thing that did seem evident seeing the open drains on the roadsides in this low lying area surrounded by wetlands was that during the rains the entire place must be getting inundated. Anyway as we were riding around we came upon a flock of Geese, yes Geese, and I stopped the bike in its tracks, rubbed my eyes, popped out my camera and starting clicking. 11 geese walking around on the colony road, sometimes being chased by the local dogs, who themselves seemed to be having fun and more than attacking them seemed quite curious themselves. It was quite mind-blowing actually. It’s not everyday that you get to see Geese walking down the road in any city.
After that we headed back home, but didn’t quite stop as the weather seemed too nice to get back indoors and so we turned the bike around and headed back out of the colony towards our next destination. I had wanted to go for a boat ride for a while now and today seemed to be the perfect day. So off we rode towards Strand Road and without wasting any time when we reached, got ourselves a boat and went for an hour long ride on the River Hooghly. “O Maajhi re….”, this was exactly the way I had wanted it to be. The boatman with his single oar at the back of the boat was pushing against the current of the incoming evening tide and ahead of us looming high was the mighty Vidyasagar Setu. I just went trigger happy with my camera, shooting anything and everything on the river, above the river, by the banks of the river and the stupendous bridge which we passed under. On our way back we came upon the boat “Mayurpankhi” and its smaller cousin, with a live band blaring music on one of its jaunts on the river with merry makers. Finally we came back to the banks and disembarked climbing up the stairs of the embankment where all the food stalls were. We settled for some Soda Shikanjee (Lime with Ice, Soda and Masala) and while it was being made a local train passed on the track behind us. Its quite frightening actually standing so close to the tracks when these trains pass by, but all part of the experience of going to The Strand. We finally picked up some Bhutta (Corn) and headed back home after a long adventurous day out.
Some beer followed by some home cooked rice and Green Thai curry was a fitting end to a eventful weekend.
There’s always something to do on a weekend if you look hard enough. I had remembered my boss telling me about this book sale that was happening at Prudential Hall next to Peter Cat and how he had bought a whole lot of them for a steal. So once I was back from Mumbai, I told my wife, who loves reading books about the sale and off we went. Books & Beyond, the erstwhile book store of the RPG Group was clearing out stocks and everything was up for grabs at a flat 50%. My wife went a bit dizzy and after a bit so did I, carrying that load. I think we ended up buying some 14-15 books.
