Oh Calcutta!My Park Street

Unfortunately,I was born a few years after the heydays of the "Flower Power"revolution and the time when Park Street never slept!When I started working in ANZ Grindlays Bank i met a gentleman called Mr P N Malhotra,who then owned the Blue Fox,an iconic restaurant that gave India-Pam Crain,Eric Segal as well as Usha Uthup(she began at Trincas).His joi d'vivre was a throwback to those hedonistic days which he would dwell upon.

So too Mr Wadhwa,manager of Trincas that was the jazz and blues centre of Calcutta.I am told that a new documentary is being made about Carlton Kito,the jazz maestro who played with legends like Dizzy Gillespie.

Music was but just a single symphony of what was the heart of Calcutta.The pop up restaurants of Chinatown serving beer without license along with steaming dim sum,the Mughal food of Nizams,mixed with the authentic bengali fish curry and rice.Live music and the Samba taught by the other Kito.

I must mention that Bengal has produced more rockers and its the only place that has rock music being played in the local Bengali language.Its sad that the Waldorf has moved from its original location on park Street to a side street but that is where I had my introduction to chinese food and chilly crabs!

I wanted to write about Calcutta,instead I have written an ode to Park Street....a lot more to write about yet...