Plaques add to heritage flavour of 3 eateries serving up signature dishes for decades
Times of India | 30 July 2024
Kolkata: An iconic restaurant on Park Street, a pice hotel on College Street closely associated with the freedom struggle and a century-old thandai shop on Mahatma Gandhi Road have received the Intach Heritage Culinary Recognition Blue Plaque over the weekend.
The three recipients of the heritage honour — Bar-B-Q, Swadhin Bharat Hindu Hotel and Ralli’s (MG Road group) — justify the three main criteria withstanding the test of time — retaining the signature dishes with same ownership at the same location.
The Kolkata chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (intach) unveiled the blue plaque at the three iconic addresses over the weekend. “The contribution of all the three addresses to the city’s culinary heritage is immense,” said GM Kapur, convener of Intach’s Kolkata chapter.
“At Intach, we are recognising the culinary heritage of Kolkata and the three recipients qualify for the honour as they have withstood the test of time with the same ownership at the same location and with the same signature dishes,” said Kapur.
In 1912, Mangobindo Panda established the Hindu Hotel that shifted to the Bhawani Dutta Lane address in 1927. The pice hotel soon became a secret meeting place of freedom fighters before the Independence.
“We are happy to receive the heritage honour, which is also a testament to the fact that our modest eatery has been successful in remaining relevant even after almost a century,” said Arunangshu Panda, the current owner of Swadhin Bharat Hindu Hotel in Bhawani Dutta Lane behind Presidency University.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was a regular visitor at Swadhin Bharat Hindu Hotel as a student at Presidency University and even after becoming the mayor of KMC. “Puisaag er chochchori was one among many of his favorite dishes. Once he even brought along Chittaranjan Das for a meal,” said Panda. On Aug 15, 1947, Hindu Hotel was renamed Swadhin Bharat Hindu Hotel. The pice hotel continues to serve some of the traditional dishes like rui korma and dim bora.
Ralli’s (MG Road Group) on Mahatma Gandhi Road has been serving up cool thandais since the 1890s. On any given day, the place is crowded with customers jostling for their cool sherbats and thandais. Strawberry milkshake and badam sherbet are the most sought after. “We have been serving the people of Kolkata for the past 128 years,” said Vikash Arora, the current owner of the place.
“It was founded by Rally Singh Arora from Punjab. It started out as a small shop but later became a big FMCG brand,” said Kapur.
Bar-B-Q was founded by Shivji Kothari from Karachi in Pakistan as a small single room accommodating barely 50 people. It has now expanded and accommodates over 450 patrons at a time. Golden fried prawns and konjee crispy lambs are among the best sellers here.
Rajiv Kothari of Bar-B-Q said the plaque was installed near the entrance last week. “It is an honour for us. We hope to continue delighting customers,” said Kothari.