ShAntiNikeTaN dIaRieS

This summer will be memorable for me. i kick started the Bengali new year at Shantiniketan this time, and trust me i had loads of fun. its not only the place that i am in love with, but also the company. and moreover at times brushing with the past really means a lot. me & my friend , both were nostalgic about Shantiniketan. it was one of our best outings ever, with all our batch mates. also an innate experience in learning to identify human beings, separate friends from acquintance.

d GANG @ Khoai haat

Bengali new year, or Noboborsho still means a lot to me, not only because of the new clothes that i get, but becoz of the food prepared at home. this time i didn't have to worry about missing the  food, because owing to a Saturday, my mom had decided to stick to vegetarian spread. and i am a strict non-vegetarian. this post is just a small effort to make you aware of the various types of food that galore at Shantiniketan.

we reached Shantiniketan on Friday, the 14th at night, we were welcomed by a hoard of screaming rickshaw-pullers and a gust of cool breeze and couple of drops of rain!!! the food talk starts with the red cupcakes i had taken along, baked a day before, for my friend & her family. i would like to think that added some more colour to our enjoyable train journey. we called it a day after having a not-so-good meal at Hotel Shantiniketan, but what i loved was the fat rice, so typical of Birbhum district.  the hotel however was good only!!! the nights definitely had there share of rum & V0dka........

hey, its me at ALCHA!!!!! i gt this bag 4 my mom.......

d sarees @ alcha

15th,saturday, Poila Boisakh, started with a delicious breakfast, ordered from the hotel itself. it consisted of Luchi, Aloo-dum & Rosogolla, keeping in theme with the Noboborsho. then it was time to visit ALCHA. those who havn't heard about alcha, lemme tell u its a small boutique, specialising in modern products made with local handicrafts, in the quaint part of the town. very near to the university. its actually housed in the ancestoral property inherited by the owners, Keya & Aloke sarkar, located in a dead lane at Ratanpally.

d ALCHA CAFE

d cold coffee @ alcha

grilled cheese & tomato sandwitch with ketchup served in dona!!!

my entire order

along with the handicrafts whats more inviting is the cafe, that they have opened. its called the ALCHA CAFE. i loved everything about this cafe, the decor, time chirping of birds, the presentation, the menu, the pricing, the bread they make............ every damn thing!!!!!! just that i would love to say a ddition of bit more non-veg fares. the decor has that old world meets modern flat concept. whats more intriguing was the presentation. foods were served in bowls made of shaal leaves, rather our very own , the forgotten shaal-pata r bati. for me it added to the taste. after a late morning breakfast we started with our shantiniketan tour once again.

d sumptuous chicken meal @ manorama guest house

the red soil always holds something special for me, and i just can't seem to get enough of roaming around this  bard's town in a rickshaw. beating the heat, we started with our rickshaw guides. i am not going into the details of the places visited, but what comes next is the sumptuous lunch that we had. it was at Manorama Guest House. a  clean & tidy, pretty big guest house which also serves food to non-boarders. we ordered the normal chicken meal which came for 85 bucks. the rice, dal & aloo posto helping was allowed within this price & the food was a yummy Bengali affair.

d not so gud momos, nd d tasty shorbot

d menu, both in english & bangla!!!!

we started with another round of sight seeing. but the main attraction was Khoai haat. the haat not only gives you a chance to browse through handicrafts, works of some of the local artists, but also gives you a chance to taste an array of dishes, prepared by the local ladies. i didn't like the momo much which came for Rs. 25 a plate, but loved the aam-pora shorbot, Rs.12, per glass. 

another menu

d lady selling the bread jilapi

d bread jilapi

I was quite excited to see a dish named bread jilapi. but was disheartened while tasting it. its actually a deep fried bread slice, dipped in sugar syrup. but somehow the bread was still crisp. with memory in our heart and cigarette hanging from lips we returned to hotel after a tiring day.

doi phuchka

the evening was kept for tasting the local junk food, rather jsst trying to see if they were the same as it was, a couple of years back. the first stop was the momo stall infront of the SBI atm, beside the University. the price of the momo has increased now, while the quality & quantity has decreased. previously it was just the opposite. then it was time for dahi phuchka. 7pcs for Rs.10. we had ordered for around 4 plates, and we had place for more also. 

d much antisipated dosa stall @ ratanpally

d egg dosa

aam-panna, cold coffee @ dosa stall

next it was the most anticipated and long awaited chicken dosa stall, named akanto apon @ ratanpally. but chicken dosa isn't available anymore now!!!!!!!!!! it was a huge shock for all of us!!! we all have secretly relished the taste of chicken dosa, during those day, and probably thats the first thing that comes to our mind, with the first mention of Shantiniketan. never mind, we chose aam panna, cold coffee, lassi & egg dosa which was a pretty good experience. however this stall also sells, noodles, soups and i believe its a common hangout for the university students. the egg dosa is available for Rs. 30- 40. we were pretty full to accomodate anything more. a nice walk to our hotel and a beautiful sleep ended the day.

next day, Sunday we returned. back to square one, our very own kolkata!!!!