Morning Walk, Morning Sweets & the Eternal Kolkata Debate

 

I have absolutely no clue why we were on this particular road, but then again, in Kolkata, you don't always need a reason to be somewhere. Sometimes the road simply takes you there!

And then we spotted a sweet shop on the corner. Jaiswal Tasty Corner (JTC)

That was it.

Whatever plans we had for the evening suddenly took a very interesting turn. There was an irresistible urge to indulge in some good old Kolkata sweets. Because Kolkata has this rather wonderful relationship with food, especially when it comes to savouries and sweets on the streets.

A little walk, a little wandering and then... "Let's just have something!"

And before you know it, the trip has turned into a culinary expedition.

Thought it's the evening, it brings me to the great unanswered question of our times:

Does one actually lose weight by going for a morning walk, atleast in Kolkata?

Because the mathematics of it doesn't quite add up.

You walk for an hour, feel very virtuous about your healthy lifestyle and then reward yourself with Adda, Chai and, as you can see for yourself, Sweets!

So technically, the calories lost during the walk are immediately given an opportunity to return home.

But then again, this is Kolkata.

Here, a morning walk is not merely exercise. It is a social activity, a chance to catch up, have some chai, indulge in a little adda and, occasionally, discover a sweet shop that absolutely refuses to be ignored.

So the debate continues.

Morning Walk: Good for the waistline?

Adda, Chai & Sweets: Definitely good for the soul!

And in Kolkata, I think we all know which one is going to win.

A Car, A Locomotive & A Walk Through Central Kolkata

 

I was heading out to pick up my car, which had gone in for its regular servicing.

I am a bit of a creature of habit. Loyal to a fault, perhaps. But that’s just how I am.

I have been sending my cars to Dewar’s Garage in Central Kolkata for servicing ever since I bought my first car. There are some things you just don’t change. You find a garage you trust, and you stick with it. End of story.

So, instead of taking the car out, I decided to take the Metro into town.

I hopped onto the Metro at Kavi Subhash Metro Station at New Garia, the terminal station of the Blue Line. The station is quite an interesting piece of Kolkata’s ever-expanding transport jigsaw, with the suburban railway station adjoining it and the Orange Line Metro also being integrated into the complex.

As the Metro pulled out of the station, something caught my eye.

There, trundling along the suburban railway tracks, was an Indian Railways WDS-6 shunting locomotive — No. 36088.

Now, most people probably wouldn't give a second glance to an old railway locomotive passing by.

I am not most people.

A locomotive is a locomotive.

And an Indian Railways shunter quietly doing its job is enough to make me forget, for a moment, that I was actually on my way to pick up my car.

By the time I alighted from the Metro, I managed to click a picture of the train. The rake was one of the older ones, although interestingly, it had been fitted with air-conditioning. Indian Railways does have a rather wonderful way of combining the old with the new.

From there, I walked towards Central.

And this is where I was reminded once again why walking through Kolkata is such a wonderful thing to do.

When you are driving, your attention is on the road, the traffic, the pedestrians, the buses, the potholes and the occasional person who seems to have obtained his driving licence through divine intervention.

On foot, you see things differently.

You notice buildings. You notice people. You notice little corners and details that you would otherwise simply whizz past.

Walking from Central Station, I came across the Lalbazar Fire Station.

And suddenly, what had started as a rather mundane trip to collect a serviced car had turned into one of those little Kolkata journeys where the city keeps throwing things at you to look at.

A Metro ride.

An old Indian Railways locomotive.

An air-conditioned rake.

A historic fire station.

And a walk through the streets of Central Kolkata.

All because I had to go and pick up my car.

Perhaps that's the real charm of Kolkata.

Sometimes you don't really need a plan.

You just need to get off the Metro and walk.

And keep your eyes open.

You never know what you'll discover.

And yes, eventually I did get to Dewar's Garage and pick up the car.

But by then, the car was almost secondary.

The journey had already done its job.

to see more Train Pictures visit my blog IndianTrainSpotter

Chimney Soup: One of Kolkata’s Legendary Chinese Delicacies

 

There is nothing quite like heading out in search of one of those rare delicacies that have somehow become legendary in Kolkata.

And when the craving is for Chimney Soup, there really is only one place that comes to my mind — Eau Chew on Ganesh Chandra Avenue.

Eau Chew is one of those old-school, home-style Chinese restaurants that Kolkata seems to have tucked away in its culinary treasure chest. It doesn't have the glitz and glamour of some of the newer Chinese restaurants in the city, but then again, it doesn't need any. It has history, character and, most importantly, food that has kept people coming back for generations.

And then there is the Chimney Soup.

I have heard that there might be other places in Kolkata that serve it, but honestly, I have never felt the need to look elsewhere. Whenever the craving strikes, I know exactly where I am heading.

For me, Eau Chew and Chimney Soup are almost synonymous.

There is something wonderfully old-world about sitting down at Eau Chew and waiting for that steaming pot of soup to arrive. It is not just a meal; it feels like a little piece of Kolkata's culinary history being served at the table.

Kolkata has always had a fascinating relationship with Chinese food, particularly the old Chinese community and the food culture that grew around Tiretta Bazaar, Tangra and Central Kolkata. Eau Chew belongs to that tradition of Chinese restaurants that feel less like restaurants and more like family establishments that have simply been serving food for as long as anyone can remember.

And perhaps that's what makes the Chimney Soup taste even better.

You don't just come here for soup. You come here for the experience, the nostalgia and that unmistakable feeling of discovering something that has been part of Kolkata's food story for decades.

So, if you have never tried Chimney Soup at Eau Chew, perhaps it is time to put it on that ever-growing Kolkata food bucket list.

As for me, I don't really need an excuse.

Sometimes, you just have to follow the craving.

And when that craving says Chimney Soup, Eau Chew it is!

My Ertiga ZXi goes in for Servicing

 

My Maruti Suzuki Ertiga ZXi brought in for regular servicing at Dewar's Garage. I took a walk to Chandni Chowk Metro Station and took the Metro back home. It's actually one of the most convenient ways to get back home from here.

Bawali Revisited

So we decided to take another trip down to this amazing getaway in the nestled in the midst of rural Bengal just on the outskirts of Kolkata's city limits. Bawali Farmhouse is truly amazing for Bird Watching.

And this time around, for the first time, our Maruti Suzuki Ertiga ZXi was tested for what it was built for a people carrier. So six of us got into the car and it ferried us like a breeze to and from this lovely place.

Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus)

Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)

Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)

Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans)

Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans)

Indian Pond-Heron (Ardeola grayii)

Asian Koel - male (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor

Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor

White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)

And that was all the Bird & Nature Watching for the first day.

The next morning I got up early to see if I could spot some more birds and capture some of them on my camera as I walked around.

No idea what Bird this is. Will find out and post.

Oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor)

Dragonfly

Oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor)

Oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor)

Mongoose

Dragonfly

Asian Koel - female (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Asian Koel - female (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Asian Koel - male (Eudynamys scolopacea)

After our breakfast at Bawali Farmhouse, we decided to take a drive down to the Riverside (River Hooghly) at Raypur and all the way down river along the banks to Burul.

And that's a wrap from the Riverside at Burul.

Off we go back home to Kolkata.