DBF Poila Boishakh "Adda & Ekush Byanjon Feast" with Sharmila Sinha

Poila Boishakh: Adda & Ekush Byanjon Bhoj - Tales & Foods of Bengal with our Home Culinary Expert Sharmila Sinha A 21-gun gastronomic salute to ring in the Bengali New Year: 1425 Bongabdo

Poila Boishakh, advent of the Bengali New Year...Bengalis welcome this special dawn with prayers & hymns, offerings of sweets and flowers at temples by the 'Bengali Bhadrolok' (women & men) who would tread out only in crisp cotton sarees and 'Dhooti and Panjabi' (Dhoti & Kurta).... Earlier in the day, they would have visited the markets, that has shops spruced up for the first day of the year as the shopkeepers open their new accounts books, the 'Haal Khata'....brisk shopping for the day's feasts follow and people greet each other with the hearty shout of Shubho Noboborsho!

This is followed by an extended hectic afternoon indoors, as people return to their homes for cooking & savouring lunch, while evenings are meant for visiting family & friends, giving gifts especially for the children and are filled with entertainment in form of songs, dances and poetry recitations at nearby community centre, temple precincts or a bunch of friends in our own houses!

And central to all the New Year festivities in a Bengali home is FOOD!!! Poila Boishakh too has its delicacies Chingri Malaikari(prawn in coconut milk) Paabdar Jhaal ( A type of Fish Curry), Moccha-Naarkol(spadix of banana) are few highlights of this meal. A meal that begins with the traditional bitters & shaags and ending with the exquisite high of aam-shotto chaatni (Mango pulp Tomato Chutney) and mishti(sweet dish) topped by a Bengali Paan....with the rest of the 21 varieties of dishes making their appearance in between, course by course!!!

We have dug out age-old recipes and planned a complete treat for your senses, "Ekush Byanjoner Mahabhoj," a lunch treat comprising 21 varieties of food, that comes straight to you from the tables of the 'Zamindars of Bengal', which will make you feel, even if for a few hours, a true-blue Bengali!!!

YOUR HOSTS: To feel the spirit of Borsho Boron (welcoming the New Year) and to help you explore and immerse yourself in this unique experience, you will join our founder Ramit Mitra and Sharmila Di, our home culinary expert, a die-hard foodie herself and storyteller/writer, a resident of CR Park over 4 decades, on this cultural & culinary journey!

So rouse the culture-lover, foodie, connoisseur and photographer in you…and feel the beat of a Bengali heart, its exquisite culture for a few hours...and we promise you'll be back for more!

(The talk presentation will be in English, Hindi & Bangla!!!)

DAY/DATE/TIME: Sunday 15th April, 11:30AM till 3:00PM VENUE: Chittaranjan Park (CR Park) CHARGES: Rs.1500/person (inclusive of charges for all the sumptuous traditional Bengali Home-cooked goodies, the storytelling & cultural experience you will feast your senses on) Children between 9-12 yrs will be charged 50% only!* Children below 8 yrs are free.