Visit to Hatibagan in Kolkata

It was on a Saturday i visited Hatibagan to meet an old man near a sweet shop. The ride i took in a bus from Chittaranjan Avenue suggested i had taken a wrong route to reach the desired destination. From hereon i had to bide my time before Shyambazar could be reached. Perhaps a query before Jitendra Mohan Avenue could have solved the riddle . The best way to reach Hatibagan from Esplanade is to take a bus from Lenin Sarani which i failed to do so. In Shyambazar after a ride lasting over 30 minutes, the approach to Hatibagan was best defined by taking a tram. Because the shop i was searching for could only be explored by taking a ride in a tram which gave ample time to scan the proceedings minutely.

B N Basak happenned to be the shop at 22A Bidhan Sarani and the man at the counter was Subol Basak. The man at the counter seem to be different from the one i had met last December when i visited Divine Cyber Cafe in the vicinity. Here a brief exchange over seeking a 100rs change led to an unexpected and undesirable intervention from a man who was not even in the frame when i sought the change favour from a sweet shop. It was better to forget and turn to the task i had come for. Laminated Picture of Lord Venkateshwar i handed to Basak  which he acknowledged as the best interactive exchange over a period. Some xerox of the same picture was handed to others including the one running D Ratan & Co Est. 1915.

Roy's store in the vicinity was equally cooperative in handing the change. Tirupati Tools Traders at 225/1 Bidhan Sarani and Tirupati General Stores in J M Avenue were among other stores i came across while taking a ride towards Hatibagan.

On different occasions on a bus ride from near Esplanade to Rasbehari Avenue i came across a Khaja vendor. Shudh Khaja; Badam Khaja. Ek piece teen taka, char piece das taka. Khaja is a rage here as more than a handful could be seen savouring the delicacy. In the same Rasbehari Avenue area there is  a shop with the name Nalin Chandra Das & Sons Exclusive varieties of Sandesh here.  While Regale Restaurant is at 123 Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road, The Chef , test says our quality, is another eating joint near Lenin Sarani.