BY DR KAUSTAV BHATTACHARYYA The tragic news of demise of Mr. Neil O’Brien was received with disbelief when I first read on the social media feed and then a pall gloom of grief and nostalgia descended. Media went to town with his obituary describing him as icon of Indian quizzing and tributes started pouring in, but for my generation of Kolkata schoolgoers Mr. Neil O’Brien … Continue reading Neil
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN Brit-bashing in India is on the rise. Well, let’s say we deserve it. For years us Brits hammered you Indians. As Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in The Discovery of India, the ransacking of India the British would come to call trade was in fact “plunder”. Nehru describes how the “Pagoda Tree”—or the tree of money—”was shaken again and again until the most terrible famines … Continue reading Better the Devil You Know
BY DR KAUSTAV BHATTACHARYYA The 2019 electoral results from Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections sent tremors through the entire intellectual establishment in the state. The state’s earlier ideology-based Leftist-Marxist politics has given way to a new era of identity-based politics. Incidentally, it would be prudent to mention that the European elections that followed closely on the heels of the Indian elections, voted along identity … Continue reading On Anglo-Bengali Cosmopolitanism
INGREDIENTS 1 ½ oz. vodka ½ oz. honey cardamom simple syrup (see below) ½ oz. lemon juice 1 egg white 1-2 drops Angostura bitters 1 star anise Ice FOR HONEY CARDAMOM SIMPLE SYRUP ½ cup water ½ cup honey 4-5 cardamom pods, lightly crushed FOR HONEY CARDAMOM SIMPLE SYRUP In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, honey, and cardamom pods. Heat, stirring occasionally, … Continue reading Cardamom Cocktail
BY DAV SINGH When Queen Victoria accepted the additional title of Empress of India in 1876, she made a rare appearance at Parliament, opening it in person as part of the announcement on the 1st of January in 1877 of her change in title. The British had imposed themselves on the subcontinent for a generation by then. It was a relationship that enriched England greatly, … Continue reading Rolls Royce Roadsweepers?
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine India, I trust that You are well and looking forward to Christmas. Let’s hope Christmas this year is better than last and that Omicron rather than Christmas turns out to be a damp squib. We are now into the third Sunday of Advent. Today, we celebrate the third Sunday of Advent which is called Rejoice Sunday. Many people will … Continue reading Rejoice This Sunday
BY NIKLESH SINGH Indian Railways in a bid to provide better passenger services will soon introduce train hostesses in its premium trains which include Vande Bharat, Gatimaan and Tejas Express. However, the train hostesses will not be introduced in the long-distance premium trains like Rajdhani Express and Duronto Express. So next time you travel by train, don’t be surprised if a woman smilingly approaches you … Continue reading Indian Train Hostesses
BY DR KAUSTAV BHATTACHARYYA The exclusive elite ‘Gentlemen’ clubs of Italy were known for their culinary elegance and glamour. Similarly, India’s culinary spread is truly remarkable and we would be enriched with elite patronage and assimilating these items as part of the urbane haute cuisine. The term ‘foodie’ and ‘haute cuisine’ along with ‘fine dining’ has entered our globalised lexicon in urban India for nearly … Continue reading Haute Cuisine Club Style
BY DR KAUSTAV BHATTACHARYYA Recently I was having a conversation with an old school friend of mine and marveled at this idea of how the notion of ‘grassroots’ was glamourized by an earlier generation of intellectuals and educated classes. We both concurred that this romanticization of the ‘grassroots’ of the egalitarian dreamy-eyed intelligentsia of pre-1990s India was basically proffering of piety and condescension to the … Continue reading Romancing The Grassroots
Ingredients 8 garlic cloves , crushed thumb-sized piece ginger , finely grated 2 tsp turmeric 800g leg of lamb on the bone, cut into bite-sized pieces 3 tbsp vegetable oil 10-12 curry leaves 1 onion , finely chopped 450ml lamb stock 1 medium potato , peeled and cut into chunks 250ml coconut milk 2 tsp tamarind paste rice or roti, to serve For the spice mix 1 tbsp coriander seeds 2 tsp fennel seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 6-7 dried Kashmiri chillies (or mild dried red chillies), … Continue reading Railway Lamb Curry
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