Pinku-Enchanted Life

We Bengalis obsess over books, food, culture and the 'going downhill syndrome of the world' with equal fervour.  Evenings are when at least two of these things merge to make the ultimate of Bengaliness possible that is 'adda'.  Adda is the art of sitting at street corners or markets and munching on savouries while sharing, debating and proclaiming 'sob golaye jache' from time to time. Loosely translated it would mean everything is descending into chaos.  This chaos however doesn't stop the Bengali from paying grave attention to his evening snack and he deliberates on the merits (taste wise no other criteria is important enough) of a jhalmuri aloo kabli combo vs cutlet vs chop vs roll vs puchka vs tele Bhaaja vs mughlai paratha  and the list goes on.  As you can see it's no easy task and many minutes pass by before the person can take a decision and place his order.  Adda of course is also accompanied by endless cups of tea which the local chai wallah sup...

A brief at work triggered memories from long ago. From pre liberalization days when a burger was a fancy dish you read about in an Archies magazine and a Cappuccino was to be had only in the lounge of a five star hotel. Growing up in the early eighties meant that our choices were limited and treats were meant for special occasions. A Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, Fruit & Nut, Uncle Chipps, Poppins, Gems, 5 Star and the occasional pack of Brittannia’s Bourbon biscuits were the highlights of our childhood days. The once a fortnight Gaylords or Kwality ice cream treat that dad took us out for were of course hallowed events. One of our summer vacation pastimes was to create treats for ourselves and then share the treat and trick with friends. Freezing roohafza and making red cubes, having chaat masala mixed with a little water, raw mangoes with sugar, salt and a lil chilly, making sandwich biscuits with good old marie and jam. And the most delicious of all, putting cubes of chilled butter into...